Clatsop Community College
1653 Jerome, Astoria OR 97103
For immediate release
Contact: Dr. Julie Brown (503) 338-2471

CCC Hosts Girls Leadership Day

Clatsop Community College was proud to host over 125 girls in the third through eighth grades from local elementary schools across Clatsop County this week for the first ever “Clatsop Girls United Leadership Day.” Throughout the day, the girls were exposed to the career and education possibilities open to them in the future.

The girls spent the day in smaller groups, moving through classes and demonstrations, with plenty of hands-on experience. In CCC’s chemistry lab, for example, the girls were led in a glass etching activity, using acid. In the Art Center Gallery, the girls got their hands dirty with clay, as they experienced spinning pottery. In the gymnasium, groups of girls were given a dancing lesson and the opportunity to watch an exciting fencing duel. Babysitting and first aid demonstrations were also included, as well as classes in drawing, nutrition, massage and friendship. The girls were also given advice about careers, self esteem and leadership.

Things really heated up in the afternoon, when the girls were bussed to CCC’s MERTS Campus. There they got to tour the Fire Science building, complete with real flames, and watched sparks fly in the welding building. They were given demonstrations in the automotive shop and a chance to design a playground in the Computer Aided Design lab. The girls were given a tour of the MERTS Living Machine, where they learned about the system that cleans wastewater using aquatic plants and creatures. Also extremely popular was the Army ROTC 25-foot climbing wall, where the girls lined up for their turn to make it to the top. The day culminated with a cheerful parade downtown.

“I loved watching the girls climb the rock wall—their courage and persistence was very inspiring to me,” said CCC’s Dr. Julie Brown, who was among the event organizers, which also included counselors and teachers from area elementary and middle schools.

“Many girls in Clatsop County grow up in poverty-level homes,” said Dr. Brown. “They need to see how important an education is to getting a career that will help them build a decent life.”
Event organizers hope to repeat the event at CCC every other year in the future, during the “off years” of the larger Girls Inc. summit held biannually in Portland. Dr. Brown added that if anyone out there has a girl at home they think would benefit from this kind of program, talk to your school counselor.

1. Checking out the Living Machine at MERTS

2. Stephen Sanders, CCC Automotive Instructor, demonstrates automotive techniques

3. CCC Welding Instructor Harley Bristol shows girls how to cut out a pattern from a piece of metal.

4. The Army ROTC climbing wall was a big hit among the girls.

5. A lesson in babysitting included first aid information.

6. Girls got to experience science “hands-on” in the chemistry lab.

7. Spinning clay pots in the CCC Art Center.