By Ajiah Daley, SWSG mentor at the University of Miami
The Strong Girls of Shake A Leg Academy, a SWSG program site in South Florida, are more than excited to serve their community in their spring service projects. Before I could utter so much as a “Hi girls,” Adrianne Louis, a 3rd grade participant, belted out, “I can’t wait to make our newspaper, Ms. Ajiah!” This semester, the girls have been transformed into journalists in order to create their own newspaper that will be printed and passed out in their community.
Their paper is entitled Strong Press, and it is geared towards spreading information about the girls’ goals and aspirations, as well as positive ways to impact the environment. They feel it is important for their community to hear the voices of tomorrow’s leaders.  Alicia Ortiz, my co-mentor, couldn’t help but share her opinion about the girls, “I was surprised yet thrilled that they came up with such great topics without any assistance.” With articles, photos, and comics focusing on topics such as future careers and environmental love, the girls are sure to spread the word about who they are and what they stand for.
Starting with personal interviews, the girls got a chance to utilize their good communication skills to conduct interviews of each other in order to gather information. The information gathered will be formulated into personal profiles for their newspaper. With step one complete, the girls are ecstatic about spreading a positive message for all to read.