Local service organization Soroptimist International of Oakdale hosted its annual “Dream It, Be It Career Support for Girls” workshop on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Oakdale Youth Building. Jessica Birchall, Oakdale’s Distinguished Young Woman and senior at Oakdale High School, served as keynote speaker relating personal experiences and providing advice and encouragement to the girls as they navigate life and look to the future. Girls from Oakdale, Riverbank, Escalon and surrounding communities were invited to attend.
The girls participated in five sessions led by Soroptimist and community members that included Discovering Your Dreams, Overcoming Obstacles/Turning Failure into Success, and Values and Goal Setting/Putting Dreams into Action. The Exploring Careers session featured a panel of professional women that spoke about their education, work experience, and careers, and how their careers have impacted their lives. The panelists were Oakdale police detective Madyson Falconi, marriage and family therapist Rachel Dickerson, esthetician and realtor Olivia Becerra, and insurance agent and marketing specialist Kayleigh Gilbert. In addition, the Balancing Your Stress session was led by Baptiste yoga instructor Kathy Wallace who provided the girls with breathing and relaxation techniques as well as Yoga exercises to help relieve their stress and bring calm to their busy lives.
As the concluding activity, the girls were provided with “Dreams Do Come True” pillows in which they placed notes to themselves inside the pillowcases as reminders of their aspirations for the future.
Dream It, Be It and Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women are the “Soroptimist Dream Programs” created to provide sustainable, measurable change for women and girls, and ensure they have access to the education and training needed to reach their full potential and live their dreams. Soroptimist International of Oakdale is currently accepting applications for its annual Live Your Dream Awards. For more information, contact Christine Foreman by E-mail oakdalelyd2022@gmail.com or phone (209) 531-5330. The deadline to apply is Nov.15, 2022.
Oakdale is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a cause-related philanthropic federation of clubs improving the lives of women and girls through social and economic empowerment. To learn more about Soroptimist International of Oakdale, E-mail sioakdale@soroptimist.net or follow them on Facebook at Oakdale Soroptimist and Instagram at soroptimist_of_oakdale.
