Hadja joined Girls Group last summer after being encouraged by her older sister to join. Reflecting on her experience, Hadja shared, “Girls Group staff and participants helped me get out of my shell. Meeting and building relationships with them made me very happy. It makes me happy to know there are people who are happy to see me everyday that I come to program.”
This summer, Hadja has particularly been enjoying the Summer Book Club. “The discussions have helped me grow a lot. The discussions helped open my mind to a lot of issues that others face that I wouldn’t have thought about before. It’s helped me get more comfortable having these kinds of discussions with others and think deeper about the world around me,” she explained.
Looking ahead, Hadja plans to attend college and become a marine biologist. “After high school I want to go to college and major in marine biology. I don’t know how that process works yet but I know Girls Group will help me find a college, internship, and all the other things to reach this goal,” she explained.