Beauty, Brains and Business empowers female leaders of tomorrow

On Sept. 1, Truly Valued kicked off its Beauty, Brains, and Business Youth Empowerment Conference at Booker High School. The conference is the first in a series of free monthly workshops for young women in high school focusing on empowerment, self-esteem, leadership and career preparation. During the first workshop, students from Sarasota and Manatee counties participated in activities that helped them discover their learning styles. They will also learn career skills such as writing resumes and preparing for job interviews.

“We have some young women here who are really focused on where they are going,” said Leslie Harrell, volunteer coordinator for Truly Valued. “We want to show them that they beautiful and they can build the confidence within themselves and how to portray that in the workplace." 

Founded in 2014, Truly Valued is a nonprofit mentoring program for girls ages 11 to 17 with the mission of building girls’ self-esteem through educational and career exploration.

“We want our young ladies to know they are of worth and of value by creating an environment where they can ask tough questions about things that are going on in the school or in the world,” said Kathy Jenkins, a parent and volunteer. “Through offering resources like Beauty, Brains and Business, it reinforces as parents what we want our daughters to learn.”