How have YOU celebrated National Mentoring Month?
Wednesday, January 16, the SWSG Boston team had the honor and pleasure of attending the 7th annual Youth Mentoring Day 2013.  At the Massachusetts State House, mentors, mentees, staff from mentoring organizations, and Massachusetts State Representatives gathered to celebrate and honor those committed to the proven positive impact of organized mentorship programs.
Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership presented awards to dedicated individuals who went above and beyond in their commitment to mentoring in Massachusetts. Each recipient gave a stirring speech about their experiences with mentoring and why they believe Massachusetts State Representatives should vote to raise the Mentoring Match Grants from $350,000 to $450,000 in Fiscal Year 2014.
The day came to life when the presenter said to turn our attention to the high school student mentees seated at each of our round tables. The high school student mentee at our table, a young woman from Lynn Public Schools, began to lead a table discussion on why mentoring is important.  It was inspiring to engage with such a confident young woman and see her moderate a discussion with adults in the professional world.  At the end of the day, these youth stood before the hall and received the loudest applause of all.
We left the day invigorated and ready to continue our mission of providing an opportunity for women and girls to create cycles of mutual empowerment!
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In January 2013, Louisa joined Strong Women, Strong Girls as the Program Operations Intern. She is a senior at Tufts University majoring in American Studies with a concentration in Issues in US Education. She spent her very first day working for SWSG attending Youth Mentoring Day at the State House.