GG Central

G^3 Nano - GO-GIRLs Go Nano

2011-05-18T20:55:00.006-04:00

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

We here at GO-GIRL are excited to have just held a really cool event under our latest initiative, Operation Keeping in Touch (KiT). The purpose of this new addition to the GO-GIRL program was to provide more opportunities for GO-GIRLs and their parents to investigate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) topics and careers.

This event was hosted by the Wayne State University Chemistry department. During this all day workshop, GO-GIRLs explored how very, very, small devices can be used to solve BIG medical, computational, and energy problems. Girls made their own nanomaterials and discovered ways these materials can be used to help make the world a better place. The day included a pizza & salad lunch, a chance to reconnect with friends, and opportunities to work (almost entirely 1-on-1) with current WSU students and faculty in their chemistry laboratories. The day rounded up with a final game of Nano BINGO, testing the girls' knowledge gained throughout the course of the day, complete with prizes!

In the morning, parents joined us for some community learning as well. In the WSU Undergraduate Library (UGL) some of our wonderful library science folks showed us the ins and outs of MEL.org and how to navigate this wonderful online resource. This is a great tool for parents and students alike! Then, our fabulous representative from the WSU Office of Admissions, Sylvia, held a Parent Café revolved around our GO-GIRLs of all ages and their pursuit for college. Some key themes were scholarships, social networking as a way of sharing information about the college application process, and timelines for applying to college.

Overall, our GO-GIRL staff and volunteers were so pleased with the turn out and the enthusiasm and engagement of our GO-GIRLs and their parents. We hope y'all feel the same!

GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Graduation (part III)

2011-04-22T14:26:00.000-04:00

GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Graduation (part II)

2011-04-22T14:23:00.000-04:00

GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Graduation

2011-04-22T14:19:00.000-04:00

GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Project Presentation Photos

2011-04-22T13:49:00.002-04:00

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 10

2011-04-22T13:39:00.003-04:00

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

A fabulous day for our Winter 2011 GO-GIRL Graduation!

Our amazing GO-GIRLs presented their awesome survey presentations to family and friends in the morning, showcasing their bright minds and brilliant analyzation and presentation skills! Prior, parents attended one last Parent Café session and learned more about college admissions and particularly, what Wayne State University looks for in prospective students. It's never to early to start thinking about college! After the girls presented their team projects, we all walked over to the WSU Student Center for a delicious luncheon catered by Slow's BBQ. Wayne County Commissioner made an appearance to present the GGs with their GG Graduation certificates. We've included photos of each group receiving their diplomas.

Please do keep in touch with us and we will be sure to do the same! This has been a truly wonderful semester of GO-GIRL and we are forever indebted to our many GO-GIRLs, their super parents, family, friends, and our supporters-thank you from the bottom of our hearts! :)

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 9

2011-04-09T10:29:00.006-04:00

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

Here we are on Day 9! Phew! We've come a lo-o-o-ong way and now we're finally putting together all of the concepts we've discussed this semester. We're analyzing our data as we speak, taking a look at our results from our online surveys and drawing conclusions. Some of us are finding that our research results match our hypotheses while some of our hypotheses have been proven wrong, but we are all learning! It's quite tiring doing all of this thinking on a Saturday so we're going to need a refreshing lunch break soon-we're going to have pizza, salad and pop-it should do the trick in helping us finish out the afternoon putting together our Power Point presentations of our results and findings. These are the presentations that we will wrap up today, and in the morning of next week's Graduation day, that we will showcase to our friends and family. We're so excited to examine and contemplate our findings and share them with everyone next week!

The information about next weekend's final day of GO-GIRL, our Graduation Ceremony, is below:

Gaining Options – Girls Investigate Real Life™
Project Presentation and Graduation
Winter 2011

Date: April 16th, 2011
Location: Wayne State University

Schedule of Events

9:00 – 9:20 Girls arrive, prepare for final presentations
9:30 – 11:00 Parent Café- Room 10 College of Education
11:00 – 11:30 Presentation of Final Projects
1st Floor College of Education Building
11:45 - 1:30 GO-GIRL Luncheon and Graduation
2nd Floor Ballroom Student Center Building

PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited seating, there is a 2-guest limit for each GO-GIRL

Questions? Please call the GO-GIRL Hot Line at 313-577-0917 or Email us at: gogirl@wayne.edu

We look forward to seeing you there! :)

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 8

2011-04-02T11:28:00.005-04:00

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Well, we are winding down our GO-GIRL semester now. This morning was spent exploring data collection. We reviewed different types of graphs and questioned which type of graph may be the best for our individual survey projects. We also refreshed our memory on mean, median, mode, and percent count. We're working up to compiling our data into a final Power Point project that we'll begin organizing next week. Lunch was spent at the Towers Dorms, a favorite for us all because it is served buffet style so we get our own choice for lunch! Then, last but very far from least, we went on a WSU Campus Road Rally. It was like a treasure hunt that led us all around the campus searching for clues as we took photos at each answer location. The Road Rally was a great opportunity to explore campus and get to see the different types of buildings on campus. We always thought the campus was so big and confusing but now we have a good grasp on what it's actually like! We're looking forward to coming back next week to complete our research projects! :)

Go-GIRL 2011 Day 7

2011-04-02T11:20:00.007-04:00

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Today was our long awaited trip to the WSU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Each group of GGs had a pharmacy student lead them around the building. Each 5 sessions that the GGs attended exposed the girls to different fields in the health sciences.

In the Occupational Therapy (OT) session the girls made a bracelet or key-chain and tested how strong their fingers and hands are by squeezing a mechanism as hard as they could. Then they learned the average strength of girls their age. They learned why OT is important and why people do it.

In the Physical Therapy (PT) session, they learned about different exercises that they could do to work different parts of the body to improve their strength. They also watched a video about the different places that they could practice PT such as at schools with veterans.

In the Pharmacy the GGs learned what pharmacists do and they toured the CVS laboratory. They saw how drugs are prescribed and approximately how many different types of drugs there are currently on the market.

In the Analyzing session they practiced testing urine (actually Mountain Dew in this case), and they learned how to use test strips that test for diabetes. Here they got a chance to wear lab coats and lab goggles and learn about lab safety procedures.

Lastly, in the Physician Assistant (PA) session, the GGs learned what PAs do and they practiced their knowledge on a sample case about a man who didn't know what was causing him to have certain symptoms. After learning the symptoms of a stroke, the GGs were able to diagnose this man. They also heard a real heartbeat in order to monitor heart rate and use a stethoscope.

In each workshop there was a real doctor and WSU students studying those respected professions to assist the GGs in their learning.

Just a reminder: GO-GIRL will be meeting at its usual time on Saturday, April 2nd: 9:30am-3:00pm in the College of Education.

Please note that the street/metered parking on WSU's campus is free on the weekends.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone again this weekend! :)

Pharmacy this week!

2011-03-22T12:03:00.004-04:00

GO-GIRLs and Parents,

* REMINDER *

This Saturday, March 26th, GO-GIRL will meet at the Wayne State University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Please drop off your daughter at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences between 9:00-9:20 am. Pick-up will be in front of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 3:00 pm.
The field trip is always a highlight of the GO-GIRL session. To find out more about the College visit their website at: http://cphs.wayne.edu/

Directions:
Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is located at 259 Mack Avenue, Detroit, the southwest corner of the Detroit Medical Center Campus.
The College is on the corner of Mack Avenue and John R St.

From I-75 North
Exit at Mack Avenue and take right on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street).

From I-75 South
Exit at Mack Avenue and take left on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street)

From I-94
Exit at 75 South (towards Toledo, OH).
Exit at Mack Avenue and take right on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street).

From Main Campus
Go South on Anthony Wayne Drive, Cass Avenue, or Woodward and turn left on to Warren Avenue
Turn right on to John R. Street.

GO-GIRL will resume as normal at the College of Education on April 2.

Please email us at gogirl@wayne.edu or call us at (313)577-0917 or (313)530-3308 (the Saturday GO-GIRL Hotline) with any questions and/or concerns!

Go-GIRL 2011 Day 6

2011-03-22T11:35:00.004-04:00

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

A super busy day as we all scrambled to wrap up our GO-GIRL surveys! We all contributed to writing the survey questions and typing them into the InspireData program, the program we're using to publish the surveys to the web! It was stressful trying to get them all in before lunch but we all managed to have them complete by the end of the day, phew! The information for taking the surveys is below:

GO-GIRL Surveys

Instructions:
Go to http://esurvey.inspiredata.com
Enter the Survey ID # and take the survey!

Teams:

C.R.A.Z.Y. (Creative, Real, Active, Zany, Young) Awesome Ladies
ID# 993022
Pretty Girl Swag
ID# 951360
BCM (Beautiful Classy Misses)
ID# 477419
P3 (Pretty, Powerful, Pre-Teens)
ID# 610413
DGAO (Diverse Girls As One)
ID# 583556
Scientists With Style
ID# 336141
Pink Saturdays
ID# 960985

After we wrapped up our surveys and worked on our team posters and cheers, we headed over to the WSU Mort Harris Fitness and Recreation Center which is right nearby the College of Education on the WSU campus. There we had Little Caesar's pizza, salad, cookies, and pop. Then we were able to run around and play! Some of us played basketball, there was also a volleyball game, we could walk on the track, hula hoop, or play any number of other activities and games. Mostly we would run around and play until we were hungry or tired and then we'd chat before running around and playing some more, it was so fun!

Reminder: Rec Center next week!

2011-03-10T13:48:00.004-05:00

Dear GO-GIRLs and Parents,

Just a reminder that this Saturday we'll be spending the afternoon in the WSU Mort Harris Fitness & Recreation Center. Please remember to wear your GO-GIRL t-shirts and gym shoes. We're sure to have a fun afternoon of playing volleyball and other games! See you then!

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 5

2011-03-10T13:31:00.005-05:00

Saturday, March 5th

Another Saturday of plugging away at our research projects! We accomplished so much today in our teams as we formulated questions to ask in our surveys which will be ready next week!

Meanwhile, our parents attended a Parent Café where they discussed other opportunities for us. They discussed other extracurricular academic programs as well as what college admissions offices are looking for. They always have our best interests in mind!

The parents also made a chain of strengths similar to the one we made. Their strong characteristics and qualities they listed included, but are not limited to: caring & compassionate, passionate about kids success, supportive, involved, leadership, focused, determined, super mom, computer skills, hard-working, driven, encouraging, problem-solving, willing to learn, flexible, structured, patient, make time, understanding, loving, easy to talk to, trustworthy, creative & crafty, motivational/motivated, fair, advocator, wanting to help, excited, resourceful, helpful, and so much more!

We're so thankful for all of the amazing and inspirational GO-GIRLs and their families this semester! :)

Reminder: GO-GIRL resumes tomorrow!

2011-03-04T14:47:00.002-05:00

Friday, March 4th, 2011

This is just a reminder that we WILL be resuming as normal tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th. We're looking forward to seeing you back this week!

In addition, we will be holding another Parent Café from 9:30-11:00 am in the College of Education, Room #253. The topic of this Parent Café is "Programs and Resources." We will discuss how you and your daughter can more efficiently use library resources at home and online. We will be joined by a librarian from the WSU Undergraduate Library who will help us navigate through a wonderful online library resource available to all residents in Michigan. We will also talk about some summer programs and other opportunities for your daughter. We do hope you'll all be able to join us!

See you tomorrow!

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 4

2011-02-22T14:11:00.005-05:00

Saturday, February 19, 2011

This was a great day for learning about research! Our GO-GIRLs had an action-packed morning spent in our Wayne State University Undergraduate Library (commonly known around these parts as the UGL). Here, our amazing librarian friends used their computer labs and extensive knowledge to show us some great ways to research online. We now know what can be considered good vs. bad research. We got a great introduction to MeL, the Michigan eLibrary website that has boundless information of all sorts and is open to all of us as residents! By just visiting mel.org, we have an entire world of databases and online resources available to us-this is a great place to visit for our school projects! Even parents will find it easy to use ;) Then we stopped by the Towers Dormitory for a true college-style buffet lunch. We could have anything from veggie pizza, to chicken strips & french fries, the salad bar and soft serve ice cream...it was awesome! Then our afternoon was spent in our teams back in the College of Ed. working on our research project surveys. We're gradually working on refining our topics and questions, we can't wait to share our surveys with all of our family and friends so keep an eye out for them soon!

We'll miss our week off of GO-GIRL as we take a break next weekend, February 26th, but we'll look forward to picking up where we left off the following Saturday, March 5th. There's a Parent Cafe on March 5th as well so we hope that all our parents can join us as well :)

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 3

2011-02-22T14:09:00.005-05:00

Saturday, February 12, 2011

We are well on our way to learning about research. One of today's activities consisted of talking about the notion of bias. We discussed what it means to be biased and we came up with some definitions. We discovered it is basically another way to say "unfair." We talked in our teams about whether or not we have ever experiences bias in any way. We also took part in a physical activity where we moved around the room and sorted ourselves according to categories. Our mentors asked us a series of questions and we sorted ourselves in response. This helped us understand creating good category systems for our survey question answer choices. We also discussed hypotheses and predictions. Lunch was provided care of McDonalds in the WSU Student Center. A fulfilling and educational day for all! :)

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 2

2011-02-07T12:23:00.014-05:00

Saturday, February 5, 2011

We are really getting on a roll now! Day 2 was a wonderfully tiring first day! The GGs built a chain of their strengths, an activity led by a few of our fabulous mentors. This chain represents all of the awesome qualities and talents our GO-GIRLs possess, which are endless! Then in groups of teams, the GGs and their mentors discussed surveys and some issues that come up when creating or conducting a survey, this is all in preparation of the surveys the teams will be creating, compiling data from, and assessing the data. This in mind, they also had an opportunity to maneuver the software they'll use to do all of this- InspireData. Lunch was busy and the food from McDonalds was running late but thankfully everyone was patient and eventually everyone satisfied their hunger that had been building all morning! In addition to all of the other activities today, the GO-GIRLs and their teams have created their team names and the themes of their surveys, which are as follows:

Team 1 with Mentors Alisha & Lanae: C.R.A.Z.Y. (Creative, Real, Active, Zany, Young) Awesome Ladies. They will explore body image!

Team 2 with Mentors Deloris & Elizabeth: Pretty Girl Swag. Their theme is body image!

Team 3 with Mentors Brenda & Jared: BCM- Beautiful Classy Misses. These GGs will cover technology!

Team 4 with Mentors Lisa & Lisa: P3 (Pretty Powerful, Pre-Teens). Team 4 went with Fashion!

Team 5 with Mentors Alison & Desiree: DGAO (Diverse Girls as One). Body image and fashion will be complete Team 5's research!

Team 6 with Mentors Carolyn & Sarah: Scientists with Style. These GGs will explore peer pressure!

Team 7 with Mentors Tamara & Winnie: Pink Saturdays. This groups of gals wish to learn about music and how it affects mood and behavior!

We are well on our way into this semester of GO-GIRL and we are so pleased for all who could join us! Please keep checking back for weekly updates and more as we continue on with our projects and learning! And always feel free to email us at gogirl@wayne.edu to let us know what you'd like to see on the blog! :)

Parent Cafes-Starting next Saturday!

2011-02-05T10:39:00.002-05:00

Three Parent Cafés will be offered during the Winter 2011 session. Parent Cafés will provide opportunities for parents to network, share information and resources, and ask questions about how they can support their daughters. GO-GIRL staff members, university experts, and community resource persons will join the informal discussions during the Cafés.

Parent Cafés are scheduled from 9:30-11:00 in the College of Education

February 12
The GO-GIRL Experience
This meeting will provide a hands-on GO-GIRL experience for parents so they will have a better understanding of the program goals and activities.

February 12
Friends of GO-GIRL Planning meeting
Our first friends of GO-GIRL Meeting will follow the Parent Café beginning at 12:00. We hope you will join us for a light lunch and conversation about how we can keep GO-GIRL Going and Growing.

March 5
Programs and Resources
How can your daughter (and you) more effectively use library resources at home or online? Looking for summer programs or other opportunities for your daughter? Don’t miss this café.

April 16
Supporting Your Daughter Now and in the Future
Don’t wait. What can you do to start preparing your daughter for college NOW? A college admissions counselor will join us and share important information and practical suggestions.

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 1

2011-02-05T10:17:00.005-05:00

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 1 down, 9 to go! And we're off to a running start! The mentors were energetically awaiting the GGs' arrival at the bus stop drop-off point with pom-poms and signs to greet the girls and their parents. GO-GIRLs started out the day with our version of BINGO, Personality BINGO. Along with the granola bars and juice, this really got us all going! Then GGs broke into pairs or threes within their teams and completed an "All About Us" venn diagram, comparing and contrasting themselves with their partner. After the mentors modeled their introductions, the GGs had an opportunity to introduce their partner to the rest of the group. It was a jam-packed morning, everyone was quite hungry by the time lunch rolled around! Lunch was served in the WSU Student Center, it was sandwiches, potato salad, a cookie, and soda. Our first session also included a GO-GIRL-themed Power Point Presentation as well as a fun round of GO-GIRL Jeopardy, where GO-GIRLs had a chance to learn all about the GO-GIRL program. We found out these GGs are very competitive! Everyone also had a chance to take a survey, similar to one they will create and extend to others as a part of their final project. Overall, today was a great glimpse for the GGs into the GO-GIRL future and a nice chance for the GGs to get to know one another! :)

GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Kick-Off!!!

2011-01-27T12:46:00.005-05:00

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Today was our annual GO-GIRL Orientation and Opening Ceremony, held from 1-3 pm in the College of Education. Off to a great start! Our 2011 GO-GIRLs and parents had a chance to meet the other GO-GIRLs and their families, as well as the program staff and mentors. They also had the opportunity to tour the GO-GIRL classrooms in the College of Education, and learn more about the program. It was such a pleasure to see so many bright and eager faces and we are very much looking forward to a wonderfully successful semester!

The dates for the Winter 2011 program are:
January 22 (Orientation), 29
February 5, 12
March 5, 12, 26
April 2, 9, 16 (Graduation)
A full calendar for the semester can also be found at:
http://www.gogirls.wayne.edu/apply.php

Upcoming GO-GIRL Winter 2011 Orientation and Opening Ceremony!

2011-01-18T13:17:00.004-05:00

For all of our future GO-GIRLs and Families:

We would like to remind everyone that on Saturday, January 22, 2011, the GO-GIRL Orientation and Opening Ceremony will be held from 1:30pm-3:00pm in the Wayne State University College of Education, Rooms 10 & 30 in the basement. You will find an interactive map of the campus at: http://campusmap.wayne.edu/.

At this time you will have a chance to meet the other GO-GIRLs and their families, as well as the program staff and mentors. You also will have the opportunity to tour the GO-GIRL classrooms in the College of Education, and learn more about the program.

You will be filling out paperwork and permission slips, so if you have an insurance card please bring it with you at this time.

Attendance every Saturday is very important for your daughter’s success in the program! If your daughter is no longer interested in the program, or is unable to participate this semester, please contact us.

The dates for the Winter 2011 program are:
January 22 (Orientation), 29
February 5, 12
March 5, 12, 26
April 2, 9, 16 (Graduation)

A full calendar for the semester can also be found at:
http://www.gogirls.wayne.edu/apply.php

Please feel free to call us or email us with any questions or concerns. We're looking forward to meeting you and having a fabulous Winter 2011 Semester of GO-GIRL!

G^3 Cyber Fall 2010

2010-11-15T11:17:00.006-05:00

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Our second G^3 Cyber was such a smash! The day started out in the WSU Welcome Center with a fun "Find Someone Who..." activity which was actually showing us how data mining works (how Google and other online sites sort our "likes" and "dislikes"). From there we moved to the Computer Science labs in State Hall where we started to dabble in learning the SCRATCH program. Each GG was armed with a cute, purple GO-GIRL wristband flashdrive complete with their individual iPhoto photo, and were all able to take the program and their work home with them for later! Parents met in the morning for a Parent Cafe in the UGL where they discussed career opportunities in Computer Science and explore ways they they can support their daughters as they continue to plan their path to college. Then we enjoyed boxed sandwich lunches and took turns checking out demonstrations by computer science students. The students had taken apart computers and showed us how hard drives worked and they answered our questions about computer science college degrees and jobs. We took tours of the 3D Movie labs in the Woodward Bldg. and finished the day with a fun prize-filled round of Cyber Jeopardy!

Reunion 2010

2010-11-15T10:53:00.002-05:00

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

Today we had the 2nd of our GO-GIRL reunions from 1-3pm. The event was open to all former G0-GIRLs and we had GGs all the way back from 2004! Mentors from 2003 and 2010 showed up as well! GG parents and GGs visited the WSU Info fair and enjoyed an ice cream buffett and social. It was a fun and successful afternoon of information, prizes, and reconnecting with one another! We're looking forward to next year's reunion! :)

Next weekend: GO-GIRL Graduation

2010-04-27T09:10:00.004-04:00

GO-GIRL: Gaining Options – Girls Investigate Real Life™
Project Presentation and Graduation
Winter 2010

Date: May 1, 2010
Location: Wayne State University

Schedule of Events

9:00 – 9:20 Girls arrive, prepare for final presentations
9:30 – 11:00 Parent Café- Room 10 College of Education
11:00 – 11:30 Parent welcome and Presentation of Final Projects
1st Floor College of Education Building
11:30 - 1:00 GO-GIRL Luncheon and Graduation
2nd Floor Ballroom Student Center Building

PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited seating, there is a 2-guest limit for each GO-GIRL

Questions? Please call Saundra Sumner at 313-577-0991
or
Email us at: gogirl@wayne.edu

Day 8

2010-04-23T12:47:00.006-04:00

Saturday, April 17th

Today the GGs, in preparation of next Saturday's data collection from their surveys, learned about data collection and analysis. Specifically, they covered topics from categorical data vs. quantitative data, descriptive statistics, mean, median, and mode. They practiced analysis with graphs and discovered which graphs answered their research question. The software used to conduct the surveys and analyze the results, InspireData, was used to further explore the concept of mean and they practiced with the software how to find mean in data. After lunch, the GGs let loose on campus with their Campus Road Rally. 2 teams combined into 3 groups and the GGs were led on a wild chase around WSU's campus as they completed a university campus scavenger hunt where they took photos as proof of their findings. Though it was chilly, fun was had by all and the exercise was much needed after a tough morning of data analysis! :)

Saturday, April 10th Parent Cafe

2010-04-12T14:03:00.005-04:00

Saturday's Parent Cafe covered some information regarding future career paths for girls and breaking down the gender barriers for science and math fields. As a group there was discussion about experiences and recommendations in motivating girls to stay on track for successful science and math studies/careers down the line.

There was also talk of the GGs futures beyond high school. Staying on track with science and math is important but some other things that colleges look for in an applicant were covered.

In addition, librarians came to show parents the online resource of www.mel.org. This resource is very helpful in so many ways. We encourage you to check it out and show your daughter. There are great links for age appropriate research from legitimate sources. The site also has great tools for parents that include but are not limited to health and other educational resources, etc.

We're looking forward to seeing our GG parents again at our third and final Parent Cafe, it falls the same day as the GGs graduation on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 from 9:30-11am in the College of Education, Room 10.

GG Day 7

2010-04-12T13:39:00.007-04:00

Today was spent tweaking & finalizing the GO-GIRL surveys. It was exhausting but now they're up and live on the internet!

The girls will be analyzing their data on April 24th and we would like to reach as many respondents as possible.

We need your data!
Please take any or all of our surveys and pass them on (especially to any teenagers you know :-)!

Here's the URL info for taking the surveys:

Go to http://esurvey.inspiredata.com

Enter the Survey ID number and take the survey!

Team Name Research Topic Survey ID
S.W.A.G.G. Movies, Music & More 658116
B.O.U.N.C.E. Music 962823
The Stinging Roses Fashion 818809
Blazin’ Babes Body Image 219253
G.I.A. Fashion 594809
The Shining Stars Vacations 403891

We'll keep you posted as the GGs collect & analyze their data! :)

GG of the Week: Dr. Maya Angelou

2010-04-12T13:29:00.004-04:00

Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.

Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture.

As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center stage.

In 1954 and 1955, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. In 1958, she moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks and wrote and performed Cabaret for Freedom.

In 1960, Dr. Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt where she served as editor of the English language weekly The Arab Observer. The next year, she moved to Ghana where she taught at the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama, worked as feature editor for The African Review and wrote for The Ghanaian Times.

During her years abroad, Dr. Angelou read and studied voraciously, mastering French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language Fanti. While in Ghana, she met with Malcolm X and, in 1964, returned to America to help him build his new Organization of African American Unity.

Shortly after her arrival in the United States, Malcolm X was assassinated, and the organization dissolved. Soon after X's assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Dr. Angelou to serve as Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King's assassination, falling on her birthday in 1968, left her devastated.

With the guidance of her friend, the novelist James Baldwin, she began work on the book that would become I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Published in 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published to international acclaim and enormous popular success. The list of her published verse, non-fiction, and fiction now includes more than 30 bestselling titles.

A trailblazer in film and television, Dr. Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia. Her script, the first by an African American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

She continues to appear on television and in films including the landmark television adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots (1977) and John Singleton's Poetic Justice (1993). In 1996, she directed her first feature film, Down in the Delta. In 2008, she composed poetry for and narrated the award-winning documentary The Black Candle, directed by M.K. Asante, Jr.

Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993. Dr. Angelou's reading of her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" was broadcast live around the world.

Dr. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts.

from http://mayaangelou.com/bio/

G^3 Cyber

2010-04-06T13:39:00.005-04:00

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Today was GG's second Operation Keeping in Touch event: GO-GIRL Goes Cyber (G^3 Cyber), and it was a success!

About 35 of our former GG alumnis from grades 8-12 reunited in the WSU Welcome Center, along with their families and friends, to join us for a fun day of cyber activity and Parent Cafe learning.

While the girls were busy working and playing, the GG parents joined us for a Parent Cafe which started off in the WSU Undergraduate Library. Here, with the help of WSU's librarians, the GG parents were introduced to MeL, the Michigan eLibrary. This great online resource can help parents and GGs in obtaining research and other useful information materials. Later, Dr. Sally brought parents up to speed on GG and upcoming GG events and opportunities. Finally, a WSU admissions counselor spoke with the parents about WSU and the college admissions process in general.

Meanwhile, the GGs were split into teams which traveled to different stations in State Hall, learning about how computers can be used to make meaning of very large amounts of data. They explored the power to create and share messages using animation software. Among other activities, the GGs learned about "data mining", made a game using the programming language Scratch, and learned about some of the things computer scientists do. After a midday break for a Subway lunch in the Welcome Center, the girls were back at play (work). They watched a video and toured the graphics & sensor network labs in State Hall. At the end of the day, we held a big game of BINGO using all of the terms we'd defined throughout the day. The GGs walked away with lots of knowledge, new computer expertise, prizes, and smiles from seeing their former GG friends.

We're so looking forward to our GG Reunion this upcoming Fall of 2010, keep an eye out for our postings as more information becomes available!!! :)

Thank you to all of our former GGs and families who attended, and thank you to the helpful and wonderful WSU Computer Science Department faculty & staff who made this possible, as well as Dr. Stephanie Brock, the WSU librarians, the WSU admissions counselors, and GG volunteers, it couldn't have been possible without you!

GG Day 6: Pharmacy Field Trip

2010-04-06T13:01:00.010-04:00

Saturday, March 27th

A major day for GO-GIRL!

Our 2010 semester GGs took a field trip to the WSU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Each group of GGs had a pharmacy student lead them around the building. Each 5 sessions that the GGs attended exposed the girls to different fields in the health sciences.

In the Occupational Therapy (OT) session the girls made a bracelet or key-chain and tested how strong their fingers and hands are by squeezing a mechanism as hard as they could. Then they learned the average strength of girls their age. They learned why OT is important and why people do it.

In the Physical Therapy (PT) session, they learned about different exercises that they could do to work different parts of the body to improve their strength. They also watched a video about the different places that they could practice PT such as at schools with veterans.

In the Pharmacy the GGs learned what pharmacists do and they toured the CVS laboratory. They saw how drugs are prescribed and approximately how many different types of drugs there are currently on the market.

In the Analyzing session they practiced testing urine (actually Mountain Dew in this case), and they learned how to use test strips that test for diabetes. Here they got a chance to wear lab coats and lab goggles and learn about lab safety procedures.

Lastly, in the Physician Assistant (PA) session, the GGs learned what PAs do and they practiced their knowledge on a sample case about a man who didn't know what was causing him to have certain symptoms. After learning the symptoms of a stroke, the GGs were able to diagnose this man. They also heard a real heartbeat in order to monitor heart rate and use a stethoscope.

In each workshop there was a real doctor and WSU students studying those respected professions to assist the GGs in their learning.

Just a reminder: GO-GIRL will be meeting at its usual time on Saturday, April 10th: 9:30am-3:00pm in the College of Education.

At this time (Saturday, April 10th), we will also be holding a Parent Cafe to which all parents of GO-GIRLs are invited. The theme of the Parent Cafe will be Programs and Resources. Librarians will show you how you and your daughter can more effectively use library resources at home or online. In addition, we will discuss careers for your daughters that break gender molds. It should be an excellent chance to network and meet one another as well as have a rich conversation. The Parent Cafe will be held from 9:30-11:00am in the College of Education, Room #10.

Please note that the street/metered parking on WSU's campus is free on the weekends.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone again this weekend after a nice holiday break, hope everyone had a great vacation! :)

Reminder: March 27th College of Pharmacy Field Trip :)

2010-03-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

* REMINDER *

On Saturday, March 27, GO-GIRL will meet at the Wayne State University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Please drop off your daughter at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences between 9:00-9:20 am. Pick-up will be in front of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 3:00 pm.
The field trip is always a highlight of the GO-GIRL session. To find out more about the College visit their website at: http://cphs.wayne.edu/

Directions:
Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is located at 259 Mack Avenue, Detroit, the southwest corner of the Detroit Medical Center Campus.
The College is on the corner of Mack Avenue and John R St.

From I-75 North
Exit at Mack Avenue and take right on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street).

From I-75 South
Exit at Mack Avenue and take left on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street)

From I-94
Exit at 75 South (towards Toledo, OH).
Exit at Mack Avenue and take right on Mack Avenue.
Turn at the third traffic light (John R. Street).

From Main Campus
Go South on Anthony Wayne Drive, Cass Avenue, or Woodward and turn left on to Warren Avenue
Turn right on to John R. Street.

GO-GIRL will not meet on Saturday, April 3rd.

GG Day 5

2010-03-13T11:39:00.004-05:00

Today our GGs were able to exercise not only their minds, but also their bodies!

This morning the GG teams met to discuss survey questions. Some examples of the types of questions they examined were: open-ended questions, closed-ended, Likert-scale, multiple-choice, ordinal, categorical, and numerical. After filling out some surveys themselves, looking at some examples and identifying the different types of questions, the GGs had a chance to think of some rough draft survey questions that could possibly be used in the final creation of their team surveys.

Then, Subway subs helped us all rejuvenate after a long morning of QUESTIONS! The rest of our afternoon was spent playing volleyball and running around, altogether having a great time in the WSU Mort Harris Fitness and Recreation Center right here on campus. Everyone had a blast and we were able to let out some of our active energy!

Since next week is WSU's Spring Break, GO-GIRL will take a break and reunite on Saturday, March 27th at the College of Pharmacy. We're very excited to be able to spend the day in the Pharmacy and learn all about pharmaceutical science! See you then!

GG Day 4

2010-03-06T11:37:00.007-05:00

Every day we are learning more about social science research here at GO-GIRL! Today was filled with activity! In groups, everyone discussed "bias" and how to identify bias in asking survey questions. Each group worked to acknowledge any potential bias in sample questions and then had a chance to test their knowledge and create their own unbiased survey question. Also, the GGs practiced putting answers into categories. This will help organize survey results of the final surveys for the semester. And finally, the GG groups put their heads together to work on their final research project. A few of the things they talked about were what populations they would want to survey to learn more about what they find interesting concerning this topic, what questions they could ask to learn more about the topic, how they think people they survey will answer these questions, and then they came up with a prediction statement. We'll keep working on these research topics every week but so far we've made some great progress!

GG of the Week: Dr. Esther Pearson

2010-03-06T11:24:00.003-05:00

Dr. Esther Pearson
Director, Internet Applications Support Services
GTE Internetworking
Fields: Software Engineering
Specialty: Networking
Nominated by: Tiffani Pearson

Excerpt from nomination: Esther Pearson has assisted thousands of youth, specifically African-American and Latina youths, to participate in math, science and technology programs and careers. Dr. Pearson founded Science, Technology and Engineering Pre-College Studies (STEPS) Program; and developed/copyrighted the STEPS Model of Educational Objectives.

Dr. Pearson has worked in New England for 15 years setting up and administrating science and technology programs. This work has significantly impacted the systematic acceptance from pre-college science and technology programs at numerous universities in New England.

Dr. Pearson established and directed a program with the American Electronic Association, an organization of 250 CEOs in New England that manage scientific-based corporations, to incorporate pre-college math, science and technology Saturday programs, and mentoring programs throughout New England. This program resulted in thousands of New England students receiving exposure to scientific and technical careers.

She has been working in the field of engineering for 22 years. During this time she has held positions of senior software engineer through engineering director. During this time, she has completed a bachelor's in applied science in electrical engineering from Youngstown State University; a master's in engineering management from Western New England College and a doctorate in mathematics and science education from the University of Massachusetts. With this experience, Dr. Pearson has mentored numerous women and developed math, science and technology enrichment programs for youths in grades 3 - 12. These programs have been for the gifted, as well as incarcerated teenage girls. All of this is done on a volunteer basis and on her personal time.

Dr. Pearson has dedicated her entire adult life to motivating girls, women and minorities to take science/technology classes, and seek careers in the scientific areas. She works tirelessly in this effort on a volunteer basis.

To view more, please visit: http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/womeninsciencet/1998/062398.shtml

GG Day 3

2010-03-02T15:07:00.003-05:00

What a busy weekend for GGs and GG parents!

While the GGs were in the Wayne State undergraduate library learning about internet research, creating Microsoft Power Points, etc., the GG parents were engaged in the first of three GG Parent Cafes.

Parents had a chance to introduce themselves, meet one another, compare and contrast their daughters, and get to know the InspireData software that the GGs will be using to compile their research data.

After spending an engaging morning in the library, the GGs then tackled ethical issues in research. Following this, the teams finished creating their team posters.

Needless to say, everyone involved in GG accomplished a lot! :)

GG Day 2

2010-02-19T14:20:00.006-05:00

Saturday, February 13, 2010

What a fun-filled day at GO-GIRL! Today the girls and their teams discussed surveys and the who, what, why, where and how of them. Each team brainstormed a topic of interest for them. Although each team's survey and topic is in different stages of development, what they have come up with this week will get them thinking and going on further creating a topic for their eventual survey.

Because of all of the teamwork and brainstorming, today the girls seemed to come together and they got to know one another a little better. Each team began to create a team poster highlighting themselves with their team name, the team members, and adjectives to describe themselves. Wait until you see how creative they are! The sense of community is strong and always growing!

With this weekend off due to the school breaks, we hope everyone is resting well and preparing for a BUSY week next week. We're going to the Undergraduate Library (UGL) on Wayne State's campus and it is going to be so exciting to learn more about research from our favorite librarians! Hopefully everyone remembers to wear their GO-GIRL t-shirt so we can stick together and show our pride!

And, parents, don't forget about the GG Parent Cafe being held for you from 9:30-11:00am in Room 10 of the College of Education building. Our staff, university experts, and community resources persons will join us to provide opportunities for networking, share information and resources, and help you help your daughters.

We'll look forward to seeing everyone next Saturday, February 27th!

GG of the Week: Alexa I. Canady

2010-02-13T11:21:00.001-05:00

Alexa I. Canady

Alexa Canady was born on November 7, 1950. She is an African-American Neurosurgeon.

Canady was the first Woman and First African American to become a Neurosurgeon in America. From Lansing Michigan, Alexa Irene Canady is the daughter of Elizabeth Hortense (Golden) Canady and Clinton Canady Jr. Her father was a graduate of the School of Dentistry of Meharry Medical College, practicing in Lansing. Her mother was a graduate of Fiasco University was active for years in civic affairs of Lansing. She also served as national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Young Canady and her brother grew up outside Lansing and were the only two Black students in the entire school. Despite the obstacles, Canady was an exceptional student and named a National Achievement Scholar in 1967. She attended the University of Michigan, getting her BS, degree in 1971. After this came the University of Michigan, Medical School, and her M.D. cum laude in 1975. Canady’s Interned at Yale’s New Hane Hospital from 1975 to 1976, and an example of her non-recognition due to being Black and a woman came on her first day of her residency at Yale New Hane Hospital. She was appointed as first female and first black to a residency in neurosurgery. As she began making her rounds a hospital administrator referred to her as "the new equal-opportunity package." Despite the remark, Dr. Canady viewed her accomplishment as a double achievement for herself and both women and African Americans.

From there she went to the University of Minnesota in neurosurgery, from 1976 to 1981. She also worked at the University of Pennsylvania Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Ped Neurosurg from 1981-82. Currently, Canady is the director of neurosurgery at Children's Hospital in Detroit and a clinical associate professor at Wayne State University. Her Areas of Expertise are Craniofacial Abnormalities, Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus, Pediatric Neurosurgery, and Tumors of Spinal Cord and Brain. She has also added to special research topics such as assisting in the development of neuroendoscopic equipment, evaluating programmable pressure change valves in hydrocephalus, head injury, hydrocephalus and shunts, neuroendoscopy, and pregnancy complications of shunts.

Besides Dr. Canady's position as the director of pediatric neurosurgery, she also works to change the perspective of how African Americans both how patients and physicians are perceived. She claims the major medical problem for Blacks stems from the scarcity of research targeting their specific health concerns and needs. Canady believes the issues will be better addressed now that medical schools are diversifying their student bodies and their faculties.

In 1975, Canady was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society. In 1983, she was Teacher of the Year, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and in 1991, Dr. Canady was honored as Alumni, University of Michigan.

Dr. Canady holds two honorary degrees: a doctorate of humane letters from the University of Detroit-Mercy, awarded in 1997, and a doctor of science degree from the University of Southern Connecticut, awarded in 1999. She received the Children’s Hospital of Michigan’s Teacher of the Year award in 1984, and was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1993, she received the American Medical Women’s Association President’s Award and in 1994 the Distinguished Service Award from Wayne State University Medical School. In 2002, the Detroit News named her Michiganer of the Year.

Dr. Canady is now retired and has more time to spend with her husband, and on working to change the view and assumptions about black patients and black medical personnel. She claims the major medical problem for blacks stems from the scarcity of research targeting their specific health concerns and needs.

Information originally from:
http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=2824

GG Day 1

2010-02-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Today was Day 1 of GG 2010! First, the GGs paired up to get to know each other and work on Personality BINGO and "All About Us" venn diagrams. These activities allowed the GGs to explore some similarities and differences among themselves.

Once everyone was well-acquainted with one another, the GGs and their teams chose their team names, which are as follows:

Team 1 - Mentors: Michael & Nicole

S.W.A.G.G. (Super, Working, Awesome, GO-GIRLs)

Team 2 - Mentors: Tracey & Laura

B.O.U.N.C.E. (Beautiful, Outgoing, Unique, Nice, Cute, Educated)

Team 3 - Mentors: Kelli & Jennifer Lee

The Stinging Roses

Team 4 - Mentors: Stephanie & Michele

Blazin' Babes!

Team 5 - Mentors: Colleen & Sabine

G.I.A. (Girls In Action)

Team 6 - Mentors: Jen Lenk & Angela

The Shining Stars

After creating their wonderfully individual team names, the GGs and their teams created and completed a survey. Some of the themes of these surveys included after-school snacks and stores for shopping. This is only a taste of the kind of social research the GGs will conduct over the next 9 weeks.

The GGs also learned more about GO-GIRL by playing GG Jeopardy and watching a video montage of photos from last year's GG 2009 semester.

We're looking forward to a great second week! :)

Kicking off GO-GIRL 2010!

2010-02-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

GG Orientation, Saturday, January 30, 2010

GO-GIRL got off to a great start last Saturday as the new batch of 57 GO-GIRLs and their parents, friends, and relatives met their new GO-GIRL mentors and team members. This semester's 57 GO-GIRLS proudly represent 16 different communities and attend 38 different middle schools.

Held in the cafe of the WSU Towers Residence Hall, the orientation included a meet & greet among GO-GIRLs and their new team members and mentors. Dr. Sally Roberts gave an uplifting opening speech during which parents and GGs snacked on cookies and sodas.

Whitney, a former GO-GIRL participant from the Class of 2003, has returned to support the new class of GO-GIRLs. She is now a sophomore at Wayne State University and is majoring in languages including Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. We are so excited that she will join us this semester and know that she will be a source of inspiration to new GO-GIRLs.

GO-GIRL seems to have recurring faces, like Whitney, and sisters of former GO-GIRLs. This semester there are at least 3 girls whose older sisters have graduated from GG in the past. Our family of GO-GIRLs continues to grow!

G^3 Nano a Resounding Success

2009-11-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

On November 7th over 60 girls in grades 8 – 12 arrived bright and early on the Wayne State University campus. Although the program was not scheduled to begin until 9:00 am, girls began arriving at 8:30. What brought these girls out early on a Saturday morning? The opportunity to explore the field of nanochemistry. The girls started their day by reconnecting with former GO-GIRLs during a community buidling activity and then headed off to a lecture titled “Sweating the Small Stuff: The Big Deal about Nano” delivered by Dr. Stephanie Brock, professor in the department of chemistry at WSU. After the lecture, the girls were off to the chemistry labs to make ferrofluids with the assistance of WSU students and faculty. During the lab the girls donned goggles and lab coats as they learned about scientific procedures and lab safety in the context of making their own ferrofluids. After a break for lunch, the girls were back in class. During the afternoon session, "Nanomagnets to the Rescue: Curing Cancer," the girls worked in teams to develop possible solutions to a medical application problem using ferrofluids. The day concluded with a Nano@Wayne chemistry tour including X-ray Diffraction and Electron Microscopy labs. When asked about the day one of the girls said, “the day was awesome" which says it all.

G^3 Nano

2009-11-06T07:17:00.000-05:00

On Saturday November 7th, former GO-GIRLs are invited to attend GO-GIRLs Go Nano hosted by the WSU department of Chemistry. This event is part of a new GG initiative, Operation: Keeping in Touch (KiT). During this all day workshop, GO-GIRLs will explore how very, very, small devices can be used to solve BIG medical, computational, and energy problems. Parents will meet with the a WSU admissions counselor and experience a virtual nano experience in the computer labs at the UGL. Stay tuned for more.

GO-GIRLs Keep in Touch

2009-10-25T22:00:00.000-04:00

We were excited to hear from former GO-GIRLs that were not able to attend the reunion. Ciera is a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University and is considering a pre-law curriculum. Erika could not attend because her Saturdays are busy with DAPCEP and violin class. Karolina was off on an adventure in the wilderness in Canada with her class. Megan, who is now attending Oakland University, was playing in an alumni softball game with her division one team. Hana sent greetings from U of D Mercy where she is a biology major heading toward a career in dentistry. Mariola is also attending U of D Mercy and is pursuing a medical career.

We look forward to hearing from other former GO-GIRLs. To keep in touch you can email us at gogirl@wayne.edu.
You GO-GIRLs!!!!

GO-GIRL Reunion

2009-09-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

On Saturday September 19th we hosted the first GO-GIRL reunion sponsored by the RGK foundation. The 48 attendees represented girls from all of the past ten graduating classes. Former participants are in grades 8 through college. The event included opportunities to reconnect with friends and mentors, a university information fair, and an ice cream social. Senator Martha Scott, who has been a steadfast supporter of the program, joined the festivities along with Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid the co-founder of the program and current President of Saint Joseph’s College in Connecticut. Plans are already underway to make the reunion an annual event.