SWAG is ‘bigger than a mentoring program’

“Where do you want to go in life?”

That’s the question Ella Watkins has asked more than 300 girls since founding the nonprofit mentoring program Sisters With Aspiring Goals.

Abbreviated as SWAG, it’s a sisterhood for girls to build their self-esteem and confidence, gain career and college readiness and learn social and life skills as they aspire to be the greatest version of themselves.

“What makes you want to reach the highest?” Watkins says. “What goal do you want reach for?”

Thanks to SWAG, since 2015, women have gone to college with some obtaining their master’s degrees, others have returned to Jackson as mentors and some are giving back to the community in other ways – reasons that she knows SWAG is making a difference.

But SWAG’s impact doesn’t just start after girls leave the program; it’s happening every day.

Noticeable impact

Three years ago, a timid Madison Agomuo struggled to socialize with others.

Today, she’s the president of Top Teens of America in Jackson, vice president of CAP with the Gamma Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a member of the Mayor’s Youth Council, and she credits her growth socially to SWAG.

“I was reserved,” Agomuo said. “It brought out the leader in me.

SWAG allowed her to be at the center of activities, speak or make presentations to others and interact with her peers.

And that’s why she wanted to join.

Intrigued by the organization’s mission to empower girls to be leaders and its commitment to service, she first joined SWAG in 2019 after attending a community workshop.

The program teaches girls to give back to the community.

They’ve visited nursing homes and helped kids at the Dream Center, a homeless shelter for families in Jackson, Agomuo mentioned as some of the most impactful things she’s done with SWAG. The group also volunteers at events sponsored by the city of Jackson, Chamber of Commerce, and local non-profits, like RIFA.

“I feel like I have a purpose in life to help others and promote growth in our community, especially to the younger generation,” Agomuo said. “I want them to see that they have a chance, and there are people who can be great role models for how they can improve their lives and grow as individuals.”

The 17-year-old attends Jackson Central-Merry Early College High and has earned over 30 college credits hours through the school’s dual enrollment with Jackson State Community College.

She plans to attend a four-year university and go to medical school to become an anesthesiologist.

She knew she wanted to go college but thought about pursing technology.

SWAG not only taught her more about higher education and how to prepare for college but also exposed her to more careers, including anesthesiology.

SWAG brought speakers from JSCC, Union University College of Pharmacy and healthcare professionals, such as doctors and nurses.

“That helped confirm that this is really what I want to do,” Agomuo said. “Now that I’ve gotten closer to graduating and that I’ve been in SWAG this long, I see that I’m really passionate about medicine and helping the community in this way.”

Agomuo sees the impact SWAG makes on other participants too. She’s witnessed behavioral and academic differences because of Watkins does homework-help days and has invited tutors from Union.

Being around the girls on those days, mentor and SWAG board member Sonya Washington sees how disciplined they are and how much they care about their education.

“They want to do something more,” she said. “It’s their attitude and drive in wanting to do better.”

Mentoring: ‘You are worthy, valued, can do anything’

Watkins founded the group after 23 years of working with middle and high school students in alternative school. Talking to students at the alternative school, she realized that many of the girls were like her growing up: insecure, impressionable and unclear of her self-worth, she said.

“A lot of our young ladies need mentors to help them build their self-esteem and let them know, ‘You are worthy, valued and can do anything,’” Washington said about the girls she encountered when she used to work with Watkins. “We felt that this would be a great cause if we could introduce them to different things.”

Often, the youth in SWAG haven’t been outside of their community, Washington discussed. But showing them what opportunities exist opens their mind to what they can become.

The program is “needed,” Washington and board vice president and mentor Janet Gore said.

Gore is the principal of Parkview Prep Academy, a K-5 behavior intervention program, and she sees the need for early intervention.

She’s seen how that early intervention and one-on-one mentorship worked after students at the BEST Academy, the elementary program for emotional and behavioral issues, were referred to SWAG about five years ago.

“I noticed her self-esteem changed,” Gore said as an example of one student referred to SWAG. “At the beginning, she was down on herself and very unmotivated to do the right thing. Once she had that mentor who was meeting with her, checking on her and working with her, her confidence grew, and her behavior changed because she had something to work toward.

“Girls took ownership and changed their behavior.”

Now that she’s involved with SWAG, Gore thinks the volunteer counselors and community members who do small-group sessions with the girls have been the most impactful thing she’s witnessed in her three months on the board.

To participant Agomuo and founder Watkins, SWAG is more than mentoring girls in the organization.

SWAG is about reaching young girls who aren’t in the group, Agomuo said, noting how she got started with the program.

Reaching beyond SWAG

“We’re bigger than a mentoring program,” Watkins said. “We have to reach girls in the community. We want to reach any and everybody 5- to 18-years old to keep them on the right path and make sure they succeed in life.”

With entertaining and educational activities or workshops, SWAG has raised awareness about: human trafficking, drug and alcohol awareness, safe dating Awareness, sexual assault, breast cancer, bullying, teen health and more.

There will be a June 3 Teen Summit open to girls and boys that will include topics on self-value, confidence, healthy relationships, suicide prevention, peer pressure and decision-making.

Inspiring them to have a purpose

“We try to reach them in all ways,” Watkins said.

Women, such as Washington and Gore, are members of the diverse team that Watkins has formed to mentor and teach girls that they can succeed.

“I want to positively impact as many young ladies as I can,” Gore said. “I just want to be able to meet them where they are to help support and pour into them.”

The vision, dreams and goals that Watkins have are a blessing to young ladies, especially those who don’t have a positive role model, Gore said.

Agumuo wants new girls to have the experiences she’s enjoyed.

The program has motivated her and others to have the courage, initiative and determination to have a purpose.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a goal right now, you’re unsure about something, you feel like you don’t fit in, or you feel like you’re different,” Agumuo said, “SWAG allows girls the opportunity to explore within themselves to find out ‘What do I want to do?’ or ‘How can I make the community better?’”

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: SWAG is ‘bigger than a mentoring program’