At Strong Women, Strong Girls we believe that role models, relationships, and skills are essential to see girls thrive. A mentor in Pittsburgh shares with SWSG how taking a moment to teach a new skill to her mentee made all the difference.
During one of our get active sessions, I saw my mentee, Tatyana, sitting alone and not participating in the physical activities. When I approached her she told me she couldn’t do what everyone else was doing because she hurt her ankle. I think it’s important for the girls to do get active no matter what, so I showed her an alternative. I decided to show her some yoga moves that wouldn’t put pressure on her ankle. 
She wowed me by doing a difficult yoga position perfectly on her first attempt. After that, whenever I would see Tatyana, I would show her a new position and she seemed very enthusiastic. I called her my “yoga buddy.” I didn’t fully realize the extent of her enthusiasm until Jump into Spring. Tatyana ran straight to the yoga station and refused to leave because she was so into it. After trying the other  activities, she decided to come back a second and third time.
My experience with Tatyana has showed me the influence we mentors have on the girls. It only took one moment out of the day to show Tatyana something that she now loves and can use for the rest of her life.