ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240036
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JENNIFER HUANG THE ROANOKE TIMES
Today's annual event is designed to build girls' self-esteem.
Today, 11-year-old Jessica Williams might be peering into the sulfur spring at Hollins College, trying to clear the drain of leaves and dirt. Or she might be using a plunger to unstop a toilet. Or maybe she'll learn how to use an unwieldy wrench, too heavy for her to carry in one hand.
The sixth-grader at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem is one of millions of girls across the country expected to accompany an adult today for the fifth annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day, sponsored by the Ms. Foundation of New York. The goal is to develop and increase self-esteem in adolescent girls by pairing them with workplace mentors.
This is the third year that Jessica will be going to work with her father, J.D. Williams, who works in the maintenance department at Hollins. The college's Career Development Center also is sponsoring a daylong program for the children of faculty and administrators.
Williams said Jessica started asking him six months ago if she could come to work with him.
"It's fun because you get to see what college life is like," Jessica said.
He said that by bringing her to Hollins, his daughter may gain interest in going to college. "There's no pressure, but I would like to see her get more education," Williams said.
He also hopes she will learn the importance of work.
"I want her to know that her father does work for a living," he said. "And she needs to actually work for a living."
At the Allstate Insurance Co.'s regional office in Roanoke County, 13-year-old Kristen Bevil, an eighth-grader at Andrew Lewis, will answer phones, fax documents, file property policies and attend a training meeting with her mother, Carol. Kristen, who is participating for her third year, says that she has gained a lot from seeing her mother work.
"If you have a problem, you can ask the other people," Kristen said. "It helps me to know that sometimes other people have problems, too."
She said people in the office didn't treat her "like I was [my mother's] kid, but more like a trainee."
"I want Kristen to know that she can be more without any stipulations holding her back," her mother said.
Also part of the program at Hollins College, student tutors from SHARE, a campus volunteer group, are bringing 12 girls from the West End Center, an afterschool center for economically disadvantaged children.
"We want them to see that college is within their reach," said Jane Ramirez, a senior at Hollins.
She said that the program will help the girls realize that learning is a lifelong process.
"You're never too old to learn because you keep learning every day," she said. "Nothing is too great for you to try to succeed at."
Sharese Stanfield, 12, from James Madison Middle School, said she is excited about going swimming, seeing a professor's snake exhibit and learning how difficult classes are. There is no doubt in her mind as to what she wants to be.
"I am going to be a lawyer, because I like to argue," Sharese said.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. This is the third yearby CNBthat J.D. Williams, a maintenance employee at Hollins College, will
take his daughter, Jessica, along in recognition of Take Our
Daughters to Work Day. 2. CARY BEST THE ROANOKE TIMES. Rashetta
Claxton (left) gets help from Hollins College tutor Jane Ramirez
while Sharese Stanfield and Erica Johnson compare notes.