Fayetteville natives start summer program, Queen in Me, to inspire young Black girls

Inspired by her relationship with her younger sister and former first lady Michelle Obama, a Fayetteville native launched a summer mentoring program for Black teenage girls.

Ashley Colvin, daughter of Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, started the Queen in Me Foundation to foster a community of supported and uplifted young women.

Colvin graduated from Howard University in 2019 where she majored in political science and communications before returning to North Carolina. She then began working at the North Carolina Supreme Court and at the state legislature where she currently serves as a legislative assistant.

This week, she launched the Queen in Me Summer Institute, a weeklong mentoring program, at Fayetteville Technical Community College June 13-17.

Colvin said she's seen the influence she has on her younger sister, Maya, from her style to how she presents herself on social media and wants other young women in Fayetteville to have access to that kind of positive influence.

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"People don't realize there's so many systemic things that stop (Black women) from having that equilibrium," she said. "So just when I began to analyze and think about all of the different aspects that kind of had made me and helped me to become who I am and where I want to go, I think about (how) not everyone has resources, not everyone had a community, so let's build that."

Each of the participants in the program also received a copy of "Becoming," which had a heavy influence on the program.

"We also base this (program) off of the book 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama, her memoir, simply because Michelle Obama is a woman who many look up to," Colvin said. "She has empowered many women throughout her journey. So we just thought she would be a great person to inspire not just the young women in this program now, this cohort, but also women all over."

Colvin said she wants the young women in the program to learn that the goal is not to obtain perfection and that perfection is flawed.

"What we do want them to know is that if you continue to just evolve and enjoy your journey, your process, and to not put so much pressure to be perfect," she said. "You must just enjoy your journey of becoming."

The mentoring program focuses on four pillars: faith, leadership, persistence and confidence.

According to Colvin, the pillars came from some of her own experiences. She said she has had to have faith to pull her forward, leadership has shaped her, she has felt the need to build her confidence and has needed to have persistence through closed doors.

Alongside Colvin, who serves as CEO of the foundation, Zakiyyah Backman, a Cumberland County educator of 25 years, serves as chairwoman of the foundation's board.

Backman said when Colvin approached her with the vision for the Queen in Me Foundation, she wanted to help her bring it to fruition.

"Ashley is certainly on the journey of becoming her best self but along the way, she has made great strides," Backman said. "My goal was making sure her dream, her vision comes to reality."

The program's inaugural class consisted of 17 middle school and high school teens from the Fayetteville area. Backman and Colvin said they received between 30 to 40 applications.

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It was some of the pillars of the program that appealed to some of the young women like Cumberland International Early College High School graduate Alyssa Paylor.

Paylor, 18, said she wanted to use the program to break her out of her shell.

"I wanted to put myself out there and try to branch out," she said. "Also, try to network and get to know more people and be able to hear about the people who come in and speak and the advice they give and trying to mentor us. I just wanted to be able to take all this in before I go out to this journey in a different city."

Paylor will attend North Carolina A&T State University where she intends to major in psychology.

Sanaz Carmichael, 18, who recently graduated from Pine Forest High School, said she wanted to expand her leadership skills by participating in the program.

"I hope to gain knowledge," she said. "Knowledge is key in life to learn, to grow as a person. Knowledge is something that you can take on and you will have with you for the rest of your life. I want to learn to grow as a person like the four pillars; being more confident, being a better leader, being better than you are right now."

At the end of the program, the foundation will hold its inaugural High Tea Scholarship Luncheon on Saturday for the program participants. One to two applicants for the program will be awarded a scholarship of at least $1,000, but Backman said that could possibly increase as donations were still coming in.

Amber Johnson, 15, a sophomore at Gray's Creek High School, said the scholarship would have a positive influence on her future.

"A scholarship like that, for me, it would mean just me bettering myself as a person ... to really self-radiate," she said.

Backman and Colvin said the program is something they want to continue and expand.

"I think the Queen in Me Institute is going to be an annual thing that we can do over the summer," Colvin said. "I want the young ladies to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them, to really take to heart the resources, the messages, the speakers that they're hearing from."

Colvin also said she could see the foundation expanding outside of Fayetteville and throughout North Carolina.

Backman said she hopes to inspire the young women of the program to stay persistent and know they have support.

"I want to see our young ladies keep moving towards their path of becoming. Because all of us have great qualities and skills inside of us, but sometimes we need someone who will look at us and tap into that and help motivate and encourage us to continue to move forward," she said.

Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Mentoring program aims to inspire Black girls in Fayetteville