The Provo Girls Summit, an event that links young girls to a wide range of female professionals, was held at Provo City Library on Oct. 10.
The sixth annual Provo Girls Summit involved around 300 girls aged 8-12 and over 40 female professionals with whom the girls got to mingle. The event started with introductions from each professional, and then the girls were given a chance to explore the booths of each professional. The female professionals came from fields ranging from art to engineering, business, medicine and more.
Tanei Atagi Henry created this event when her daughter was 8 years old. Henry explained that the event targets young girls 8-12 year olds because they are starting to take these classes in seventh and eighth grade. Henry also explained that, along with seeing her daughters making these decisions, she was also a high school English teacher and saw girls trying to decide on what college to go to and the field they wanted to study every year.
"I believe the Provo Girls Summit builds confidence in young girls because it allows them to see that life is full of options," Cassidy Baker, another organizer of the event, said. "They are introduced to fields and professions that may have seemed out of reach. We try to strive to the original motto that if a young girl can see it, she can be it!"
During the event, girls explored booths run by attorneys, authors, video game developers, veterinarians, pilots and others. At the booths, girls were shown how to create video games, challenged to find out what was wrong with different animals, exposed to different fossils, taught about CPR and more.
Becca Lee Ogden, an organizer of the event, explained when it comes to engaging with professionals, the summit offers guidance for girls, such as the kinds of questions they can ask, how to engage professionally and encouraging them to practice handshakes.
"We also encourage parents to step back and let their girls take the lead in every interaction at Provo Girls Summit. This way, the girls feel empowered to ask questions, form relationships and pursue their passions all on their own," Ogden explained.
Nora Anderson took her 9-year-old daughter to last year's summit and said she still talks about it. Anderson expressed she wants to normalize working as a woman for her daughter and shared that the summit is just as meaningful to her as it is for her daughter.
Kimber Watson Nelson and Ann Dee Ellis try to take their daughters to the Provo Girls Summit every year. "I get emotional about it every time I see those women talking about it," Dee Ellis stated. Dee Ellis continued by saying she believes exposing girls to women working in different professions will show them they can do it as well.
The Provo Girls Summit is a nonprofit organization organized by Tanei Atagi Henry, Alicia Sheffield Sanford, Becca Lee Ogden, Teya Wiltsie and Cassidy Baker, along with 40 volunteers who help set up and clean up.