Voices of Her Own, Spring 2023, Issue 6

The Beauty of the Butterfly Issue

Letter from the Editors

Maddie and Bessy, SOHO Program Managers

As we wrap up our second year as SOHO Program Managers, we can’t help but reflect on how important the concept transformation is to this program. We have seen remarkable transformations, not only in our mentees’individualized spaces thanks to the spring space transformations (see page 15!), but also in our mentees, mentors, and interns this year.

With the help of their mentors and project instructors, we have seen the mentees learn that the process of creating their projects can be just as exciting and beautiful as the end results. Each process allows them to develop new skills, problem solve, learn from their mistakes, and gain confidence in expressing themselves, with the finished product serving as a reminder of this growth. While the girls have learned a lot from SOHO (see page 10!), it is safe to say we have learned a lot from them as well.They keep us up-to-date on the newest “slang” and they inspire us to embrace new adventures with excitement and creativity, just as they do each

Along with their SOHO internships, Brianna and Odalis have balanced school, multiple jobs, extra curriculars (Brianna has been busy practicing and competing with her drill team), and traveling (Odalis just returned from a 6-week trip toAsia!). We have seen tremendous growth in our interns this year, especially in terms of communication, time management, initiative, and confidence. While this growth came with some growing pains, both for us as supervisors and for them as interns and role models, we are so proud of their own transformations that undoubtedly will benefit them in their future endeavors.

At SOHO, the beauty of the butterfly is found both in the butterfly itself (for us, that could be a completed STEM project or new sense of self confidence) and in the often-overlooked transformation process, a challenging, yet invaluable experience.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us as we support this life-changing program: mentors, mentees and families, staff at partnering organizations, donors, and the SOHO Board, we appreciate you all!

We hope you enjoy this issue that provides a glimpse into how SOHO has continued to transform countless spaces and lives this year.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”

- Maya Angelou

SOHO Interns

“Brianna and Odalis make SOHO better. They have been where we are and they are young. We can relate to them because it hasn’t been that long since they were our age.They make me feel happy because they are good companions, are helpful, and they do a lot for us.They are good at helping with the projects. Brianna is good at talking with us and makes us laugh. Odalis makes me happy when she sits with me. She is fun and she shows that she trusts me.They take time to be with us when they have busy schedules with school and work. They take the time for us which makes me feel happy and thankful that they think about us and SOHO.They’re really fun and one of the best parts of SOHO.” -

Thiara

Brianna and Odalis, the second cohort of SOHO interns, have made an indescribable difference on mentee and mentor experiences this year, as well as on the overall functioning of the program.

SOHO mentor, Maggie, reflects on her mentee/SOHO intern, Brianna, below. In March, I enjoyed dinner and milkshakes with my mentee, Brianna, to celebrate her 17th birthday! It really doesn’t feel that long ago when I met Brianna during her 5th grade year, and although every birthday we celebrated together reminded me that she was growing up, this one made me reflect on what an independent, kind, and hardworking young adult that she has become. In only a few short months she’ll enjoy her summer break before entering her senior year.Acapstone year, with the “real world” awaiting her. I feel so fortunate to have been matched with Brianna during SOHO in 2016, to share in countless hours of homework, to experience new adventures together and conquer fears, to watch her confidence grow, and to see her excited to serve our community. SOHO successes come in all shapes and sizes, and Brianna is just one success story that shows how a little extra support can provide a world of growth. My note to Brianna on my most recent reflection is shared here for the supporters of SOHO to hear more about the impact of this program.

Dear Brianna,

I am astounded by your growth since meeting you. I recall one of the first projects we worked on together in 2016, the full body silhouette artwork, and it took a lot of prodding to get you to tell me about yourself, but I saw glimmers of excitement from you as we started to connect. I saw how SOHO provided a safe space for you to make friends from different schools with different backgrounds, and listening to you all laugh together made my SOHO nights my favorite night of the week.Then, at your 5th grade SOHO celebration I watched you deliver a speech that I don’t think you could have ever done at the start of the program.This was the first time I truly understood how much your confidence had grown since you started SOHO.

SOHO Club gave you the opportunity to meet even more friends from different SOHO years. I remember by the time we left the beach trip in 2019 that you had 2 or 3 great friendships that you established in the 2.5 days together.You all had a shared experience when you enjoyed the beach for the first time, and the laughs and screams coming from you all as waves rolled in is something I’ll never forget. During the pandemic we had to get creative about how to hang out and connect with SOHO Club but your commitment and gratitude for what SOHO provided was apparent, and you helped give back to SOHO when we gave you new opportunities. Do you remember when we asked you to lead the gingerbread house making event on zoom?You were a little nervous at first, but you provided some great tips to the younger SOHO Club members and spoke with confidence. As your confidence grew, you were more excited than ever to explore new opportunities. When SOHO asked if you were interested in being a volunteer 4-H summer camp counselor you worked hard on your application essay.You excelled as a counselor your first year and took it upon yourself to apply and coordinate your volunteer application for the following year.This experience at 4H camp helped prepare you for the SOHO internship that you’ve been a part of this year, and it is amazing to watch how this opportunity has allowed your independence and communication skills to grow. I have watched you learn how to better manage your time as you balance school, extra curriculars, and the internship. I have seen how you have used the money you have earned to save for the future, enjoy time out with friends, and show others you care through gift giving.You are now part of the team that is providing SOHO support and this an amazing way to give back.

Brianna, I hope you know that you have changed my life and I will forever believe that volunteering for SOHO is one of the best decisions I made when I moved to Alexandria. Keep striving to be great, keep laughing, and keep opening doors for strangers. I am so proud of how much you’ve grown since I met you in 2016, and I can’t wait to see all the other amazing things you’ll do in life.

- Maggie

Old Town Tuesday mentees and mentors!

Alejandra & Sam

“Sam is the BEST! I am thankful for my mentor because she is fun and I feel comfortable talking to her. She is kind and helps me be creative. She always helps me when I need it.”

- Alejandra

Alicia & Sarah

“What I like about SOHO is having a mentor and getting to be a mentee forever and ever! My mentor is the BESTin the universe. I feel so happy when I get to see my mentor. I love her so much. She is kind, a very good artist, and she taught me how to draw flowers.”

-Alicia

Alison & Cara

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she helps me with my projects. Having a mentor by my side is the best!” -

Alison

Darlene E. & Lisa F.

“I am thankful for my mentor because she helps me with all of my fun SOHO projects, like ceramics and building picture frames.”

- Darlene E.

Darlyn D. & Julia D.

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is always there when I need somebody near. What I enjoy most about SOHO is being with my mentor. I like being with my mentor because it lets me have someone to be creative with and someone to help me with my feelings. Having someone to be creative with really helps you get to know each other.”

- Darlyn D.

“I am thankful for my mentor because I enjoy talking with her and I never get bored when I’m with her.”

- Eliana

Eliana & Julia T.

Joy & Lisa B.

“I am thankful for my mentor because she is funny and entertaining. We have fun when we are at SOHO.”

- Joy Ola & Christine

“I am thankful for my mentor because she is really nice and a really good mentor. She gets me. She is cool, fun and she gets my humor. We tell stories and joke a lot. She is the very best!”

- Ola

Emely & Isabella

“I am thankful for my mentor because she is a great supporter. She is always happy and fun to talk to. She is my BFF!”

- Emely

“I am thankful for my mentor because I have fun with her. She is there for me for important events and she understands my feelings.”

-Thiara

Nadia & LaToya

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is a very nice, generous, and caring person and she helps me with hard things.”

- Nadia

Ruth & Reagan

“I am thankful for my mentor because she teaches me new stuff every week and makes me laugh."

-Ruth

“I am thankful for my mentor because she makes me very happy and she makes me feel safe.”

- Zyia

Thiara & Debi Zyia & Ricky

Introducing our 2022-2023 West End

Wednesday mentees and mentors!

Aubrey &Ashlee

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is the nicest and kindest person. Me and my mentor like to talk a lot to each other. I like my mentor a lot because we just like hanging out and she has a nice personality. I feel calm when my mentor is around me.” -Aubrey

Arianna &Alex

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she always takes care of me when there is a problem. She always tries to help me find solutions to my problems. I am thankful for my mentor because I can talk to her about what I like and she always listens to me.”

-Arianna

Emely O. & Valerie

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is fun and I get to talk to her about school drama and jokes. I like that my mentor is happy and makes me happy with her energy. She is kind and always asks me how my day is. She is someone I like telling my secrets to.” -

Danna

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is always there for me. My mentor is the best. She makes me work hard. She always listens to what is happening in my life. She is kind and a happy person.” -

Emely O

EmilyA. &Aaliyah

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she loves me and my family. She is one of the people I can trust and express my feelings to.” - EmilyA

Genesis & Jade

“I’m thankful for my mentor because I can tell her anything. She helps me with all of my projects and anything else that I need help with. She is kind and caring. She is always honest with me and she is very loving.”

- Genesis

Danna & Danielle J.

Jenesis & Bethany

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is so nice and really sweet. Bethany makes me feel a lot of feels but my top three are safe, loved, and cared for! Bethany is a really nice person and she helps me get out of my comfort zone. She cares for everyone around her. She holds all my secrets. She is never backing down.”

- Jenesis

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she’s really easy to bond with and talk to. Me and my mentor like sharing what makes us unique. When I’m around my mentor I am high energy. I enjoy having a mentor because she matches my energy well. Me and my mentor talk about important things.” - Kareemah

Niayesh & Tea

“I am thankful for my mentor because she listens to me. We have a lot of fun together. She creates a safe space for me. She is easy to talk to and always supports me and cheers for me.”

- Niayesh

“I’m thankful for my mentor because she is special, kind, funny and she helps me whenever I need it. She is nice and calm and I feel happy about that.” - Maddy

“I am thankful for my mentor because she always looks out for me. She is a really good listener. She gives good advice and helps me whenever I have a problem. She also tells me stories.”

-Tomashia

“I am thankful for my mentor because she is kind and someone I can trust. She is someone I can open up to and tell her my funny days and my bad days. She is like an older sister to me. We have a lot in common. We have our own language and it is really funny. When I’m around my mentor I feel safe with her. I enjoy having her as a mentor.”

- Stephanie

Kareemah & Ruth

Maddy & Danielle C.

Stephanie & Kaitlyn

Tomashia & Kat

Written by: Zyia

SOHO has taught me…

The lessons learned through creative art and innovative STEM projects, exciting field trips, and weekly life skills lessons have prepared our fifth grade mentees to continue to grow into strong, independent, and compassionate women.

Laser Cut Lamps at Building Momentum

“At school we learn about the basics of energy, but at SOHO we get to try energy and see how open and closed circuits work.” - Emely O

“I liked making lamps because during the process we got to put wires in places and do laser cutting to make parts of the lamp. It was really fun, especially with my mentor. We got to talk, make some jokes, and just have a great time. Even though in some parts it was hard, I was persistent and made it.” - Ruth

Step 1: Coding

Girls learned the basics of coding to set up their fingerprint sensors that are used to unlock their boxes.

Step 3: Assembling

Girls added feet to their boxes using a hammer and used a drill to attach the lids to the boxes with hinges.They used a drill bit to create pilot holes prior to drilling in each screw.

Girls further personalized their keepsake boxes by painting them to match their other SOHO projects.

Step 5: Keeping Keepsakes Safe!

Step 2: Designing

Girls personalized their keepsake boxes by designing the lids. Each design was then cut using a laser printer.

Step 4: Painting

Self-Portraits with Steve Prince at The Art League

“I liked the self-portraits with Steve Prince because we got to paint our past, present, and future. For the past, I wrote about my grandma and I in El Salvador. My grandma was very dear to me. For the future, I wrote something I really wanted to do and it is to travel around the world. I can’t wait to see new places around the world.”

-Arianna

Ceramics with Carlos at The Art League

“What I like about ceramics is we played around with the clay and we decorated it then dipped it in the glaze. I enjoyed making a mess with the clay and I’m excited to see how it turned out.”

- Darlene E.

“What I like about SOHO is the ceramics because I’m very excited to see my finished projects from the clay, glaze, and drying process. I used rose gold and gold for my tray and purple for the cup.” -Alicia

“My favorite project was ceramics. Ceramics is very fun because you can play with clay.You can make anything with clay.You can make animals with clay. I like getting messy then using the clay to make something beautiful.” - Joy

2022-2023 Space Transformations

Aubrey & Ashlee

Thiara & Debi

“My favorite moment was collaborating and planning with TeamThiara (Mom, Dad, Kurt & Me) and seeing the joy on Thiara's face moment by moment as each component of her room transformation was completed. And, finally, whenThiara said "I love it!" with a huge smile on her face.” - Debi

“My favorite part of the space transformation was getting to sleep in my new loft bed with my cozy blue blanket and LED lights around the ceiling.” -Thiara

Allison & Cara

“I’m thankful I have a mentor and that she cares about me and that she is helpful.”

- Maddy

“I enjoyed spending time with Maddy’s family and having everyone come together to problem solve so that we could overcome a few challenges during the bed assembly process. My second favorite moment was our lunch break. The entire family sat down to eat together. It was wonderful!”

- Danielle C

Stephanie & Kaitlyn

Maddy & Danielle C

Darlene E & Lisa F

Kareemah & Ruth

“My favorite part was putting up the lights!”

- Kareemah

“My favorite part was seeing how excited Kareemah was when we put the canopy up over her bed!”

- Ruth

Ola & Christine

Emily A & Aaliyah

“My favorite part was building the bed together and seeing the LED lights turned on.” - EmilyA “My favorite part was seeing Emily and her family being so involved and working on the projects together.Also, the final reveal when she was able to see her hard work come together.”

-Aaliyah

“Emely and I originally bonded over me teaching her how to crochet, so for her transformation I surprised her with a blanket that I have been making for the last few months. She said her favorite moment was at the reveal when I gave her the blanket because it tied a personal element into the room. In general the reveal was her favorite part because she finally got to see all of her hard work pay off. Emely was completely hands-on during the whole transformation, from choosing all the elements over the last few months to taping, priming and painting all the walls, drilling in curtains, assembling lights etc. It was so amazing to see her so invested in creating something.At the end of the day I told her how proud I was that she created this whole room and she immediately said 'I did?', it took her a moment to realize that even though it has spanned multiple months, her hands touched every part of this room and it was truly her that brought the vision to life, I was just a helping hand. That moment of realization and pride was the best part of this whole year.” -

Zyia & Ricky

Isabella

“Zyia was shocked that she got a beanbag chair. She was so excited!

I was excited to see Zyia really putting forth effort to assemble a difficult portion of the bed. It took teamwork to accomplish the task.” - Ricky

Life isArt

Written by:

Life is art.

Kareemah

The fluffy clouds are beautiful. The sky is a radiant ombre. The ocean always shines. But with all the pollution life can’t remain as beautiful. The clouds are not fluffy anymore, No more ombre skies, No more clear oceans, If we don’t stop pollution, life will look grotesque.

Ocean

Written by:

Arianna

Ocean, ocean, ocean. The ocean is like the sky, But it can turn black and it can cry, Like when it is getting destroyed by humans’selfish choices.

Pollution

Written by:

Tomashia

Somewhere near the ocean, sea animals are harmed. The amount of trash in the ocean makes me feel alarmed. Near the beach, turtles get stuck in plastic rings. Sometimes trash even gets inside of birds’fuzzy, feathery wings. Whales get sick and fish start to die, animals are going extinct and I really don’t know why.

Bycatching

Written by: Ruth

Littering

Written by: Emely O. & Maddy

Life is better when it’s clean, we recycle, and clean trash out of the ocean. How to save the earth is you need to stop littering, it is not good and people should always clean up and keep the earth safe.You can throw trash in the trash can to keep the earth clean.

What can we do?

Did you know that bycatching is causing the ocean many problems? Bycatching happens when a fisherman wants to catch a specific fish but gets something else. It’s causing a problem because once they get thrown out they’re already dying or dead. Some ways we can stop it is by using LED lights to stop fish by going in the net. Research shows that it decreases bycatching by 63%.

What can we do?

Written by: Odalis

There are many ways we can help our planet. One key thing we can do to help our planet would be to recycle.Although that may sound like a broken record, we can recycle most items that we use on a regular basis.This can include plastic water bottles, clothing items we no longer wear, electronics that we no longer need, and even small plastic bags that we carry with us when buying our groceries. We can make the small change of reusing items again and again. One item is reusable bags. Many stores sell reusable bags in different sizes that can help us stop our consumption of plastic bags. We can also purchase reusable plastic or metal water bottles. Most retail stores carry reusable bottles which are a great alternative to plastic water bottles you buy in bulk.You just need to wash the item in order to reuse it.

These are just a small habits that we as a community can adopt in order to help our planet!

Racism

Written by: Stephanie

Stop racism because it is offensive to people. We are all people. Everyone has the same rights. People should stop calling people by the color of their race. Everyone is special. Everyone deserves to be treated nicely.

School Lunches

Written

Bullying

Written by: Danna

Bullying should stop because you make kids feel bad and you get in trouble. If you see someone bullying, you should tell them to stop and go tell someone you trust.You should stick around your friends or teachers.

Abuse

by:

Alicia,Arianna, Darlene E, & Joy

All students should have food that is warm and tastes good. Schools should have gardens to grow fresh fruits, veggies, and more! If I were the school principal, I would have different fruits every day, and give out chips and cookies for free!

Written by: Jenesis, Nadia, & Zyia

An issue we care about is abuse. We believe kids should not get abused.They are angels who deserve the best childhoods.Abuse affects your mental health. It can cause depression and nobody should have to be hurt like that, mentally or physically. We know too many people who go through abuse and nobody deserves to be treated that way.

SOHO’s Mission

Transforming spaces and transforming lives, SOHO empowers girls through visual arts, carpentry, life skills lessons and creative one-on-one mentoring

Upcoming SOHO Events

★ May 20:Air ForceTwoTour for 5th grade mentees/mentors & SOHO Club

★ June 7: SOHO Promotion Ceremony

★ June 10: 2022-2023 MentorAppreciation Brunch

★ June SOHO Club mentor/mentee individual outings

★ July (dateTBD): SOHO Club Pool Party

★ August 23: SOHO Club Back-to-School Family BBQ

SOHO SHOUT OUTS!

★ Building Momentum Staff, specifically Cecily, Charlotte, Sterling,Akshta, and Katie - for the patience and enthusiasm while teaching us countless skills through building creative STEM projects

★ Executive Diner - for the delicious dinners

★ HEARD, specifically Jane Collins and Phallon Perry - for helping us gain the skills and confidence to write and speak about our experiences

★ LisetteTorres - for teaching us about our bodies

★ Paula & Mary Gubbins - for the stationary supplies & for teaching us how to write thank you cards

★ Social4Good - for the bed-in-a-bag donations and gift cards

★ Spring2Action Donors - for a record-setting year that will allow us to continue to transform lives

Mentees and Mentors – Share your photos and stories to be featured in the next issue of voices of her own magazine.

For more SOHO information visit spaceofherown.org Or Find Us On