Letter to Readers: Helping girls to Dream It, Be It

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Freshmen Natalie St. Lawrence, left, and Katy Kaelin, center, talk with Soroptimist members, including Dorene Gleason, seated at the registration table, as they arrive for Dream It, Be It, an annual event the organization sponsors to encourage girls to set goals and think about their education and careers.

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Alexandra Nielsen, a former law enforcement officer who now is a private investigator and business owner, tells students about her professional experiences during the career event. Nielsen was among several women who shared stories and advice with participants.

When I was in junior high, we all took a class called “Self-Understanding Through Occupational Education,” or SUTOE. We learned about various careers, the education needed to work in those fields and how our interests and skills might fit with different jobs. Did we prefer working outside or inside, for instance, and did we want to work as part of a team or individually? Did we like to work with our hands, organizing documents or speaking in front of people?

We took field trips, too, to the nearby paper mill, to a bank and to other local businesses. And we applied for our Social Security numbers — back then, they weren’t issued at birth like they are now.

This was a decade before personal computers and long before technology such as cell phones. The class offered us much information and insight that wasn’t readily available otherwise.

The McMinnville Soroptimist Club’s annual Dream It, Be It program reminds me a little of our SUTOE class.

The Soroptimists’ free program is targeted at Yamhill County high school girls — focusing on education of women and girls is the organization’s mission. Using club members and other professional women (including me for the past two years) as mentors, it gives participants a chance to think more about careers, goal-setting and steps they can take to achieve their dreams.

Several Soroptimists spoke about those topics at this year’s Dream It, Be It event, which was held Friday. They discussed their own paths and, in some cases, how they pivoted as they discovered new ways to use their talents. The speakers noted that today’s high school students probably will have several careers in their lifetimes, but most will require basic skills such as the ability to learn and to work with others.

It’s a great program with many perks for the girls who attended, including pizza, gift cards and information about applying for grants for school equipment.

Unfortunately, attendance was sparse. I hope more students will take advantage of this opportunity next year. Check the organization’s website, simcminnville.org, for information about next year’s Dream It, Be It Event and other opportunities the club offers women and girls.

— Starla Pointer

Reporter and Stopping By Columnist

spointer@newsregister.com, 503-687-1263