Resiliency stressed at annual conference for young girls in Medina County

MEDINA — Ideas of maintaining resiliency through life's hurdles were shared Sunday in the 22nd Sister to Sister Conference put on by the Medina County branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). This year's event took place virtually and almost didn't happen at all, but efforts from one Buckeye High School student helped push leadership toward continuing what's become a proud and trendsetting local tradition. "We've met for the last 20-plus years at Medina Hospital and we're very happy to still get to be doing this today," said conference chair Cynthia McQuown, who also works as a counselor for Cornerstone Psychological Services. "Olivia Ortiz was the inspiration for us to go virtual this year. The adults, like me, were kind of discouraged but not Olivia." "She breathed life back into Sister to Sister and now here we are, virtual," McQuown added. Ortiz, 17, is a Buckeye junior and member of Junior Leadership Medina County, which for the past two years has helped with Sister to Sister planning as well as event day offerings. "This has been two years now, 2020 and 2021, that they've done such a great job for all of us and we're very thankful for that," McQuown said. Medina's event started as one of the first of its kind in the country, a development that organizers thanked co-founder Pat Chaloupek for spearheading. The local annual meeting is now part of similar AAUW efforts all over the country aiming to help girls develop confidence, leadership skills and persistence of career goals. Last year, Chaloupek characterized that campaign as "making sure they continue on with their goals and aren't put down by the role they're told to play. We want them to become leaders and to utilize their full abilities. We want them to become educated and to get out there into the world." Sunday's talk was free to join for any girl aged 11-14 and offered private group discussions following talks from two keynote speakers. Medina Ward 1 Councilwoman Jessica Hazeltine spoke of struggles growing up through junior high school bullying and adulthood challenges such as building up confidence to run for public office. "Friends were a huge part in convincing me that this was me and I am a councilwoman," she said. "They told me I was a councilwoman already whether I have the title or not. Then it's your job to show the rest of the world what you can do. That's how I got up that confidence to run. There's a good team around me that really just pumped me up and they're in the process of doing that again right now with my election coming up in November. Hazeltine urged attendees to not be discouraged over things they're "missing" by not having traditional in-person school for the past calendar year. "What happens from this point forward is what you decide to do with your time and your energy," she said. "Holding space for that means you have a part of you that's sad you didn't get to go to school this year. My daughter has done some hybrid and I was sad for her she didn't get to go to her first year of middle school because of COVID. It's OK to miss that but also know there's nothing you could've done about it. The most important lesson coming out of this is you get to decide what your new normal is." Ashley Powell, founder of the local youth program So Now What? and recipient of AAUW Medina's 2020 Excellence in Leadership Award, said she didn't have her true "just click" confidence moment until well into her 20s. "Finally it just clicks and you're able to spring back," she said regarding resiliency. "It didn't happen for me in middle school or high school. I attribute it to my family and friends and people in life who just don't give up on you. It's hard to see the good in yourself sometimes. I was probably 23 when I finally found that out." Powell, a Medina city resident and former Buckeye Local Schools student, also touched on experiences growing up as a Black woman in a predominantly white community. "A lot of people don't look like me," she said. "I always wanted to say and do the right thing but also stand up for what I think is right. It was a big challenge. Being on social media and learning how to use my words to express myself without alienating the people I was trying to educate, I had to be resilient through that." In addition to AAUW Medina and Cornerstone Psychological Services, Girl Scouts of America, ZONTA ABC, Medina County District Library, The Medina County Health Department, and Cloverleaf Local Schools are credited as partners in making this year's conference possible. Professionals on hand Sunday to help with group activities included AAUW Medina president Alanna Arnold, Cloverleaf Local Schools prevention counselor Brandy Miracle, and Medina County Health Department health educator Clara Varndell. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.