An Educated Girl That Rocks

I’m thrilled to welcome our special guest. She’s an author and the founder of Educated Girls Rock. Please welcome Nisha Glenn!

NISHA:  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciate it. I’m so happy to be here on this beautiful, glorious day.

Oh, thank you so much for being here, Nisha. First, I would love to have you share a little bit about who you are and what you do.

NISHA: So my name is Nisha Glenn. The first  reason I started Educated Girls Rock is because I had a son who was having behavior issues in school. Every time I would get a phone call to come up to the school, I would always feel intimidated in the meetings. So I said, what can I do to kind of learn more about the educational system ao I can go in there and, not only be a champion for my son, but also be a champion for myself and have a voice.

Second reason is that I was born in an environment where education was not important. I grew up in a household where pretty much everyone in my immediate family dropped out of high school. And I did not want to become a statistic. Not only did I graduate high school, but I also graduated high school pregnant. So I am also an advocate for teen moms as well.

Fight to Focus

 Wow. That is incredible. Can you tell us what your nonprofit does and how it helps you pursue all of the passion that you brought into creating it?

NISHA:  I had an opportunity to go work at an at-risk charter school where all the girls had issues. So being able to inspire, motivate, and work with these particular girls and students  really kind of challenged me. Because at that time I didn’t have a curriculum, I didn’t have a program, I just sent my information to the school and said “Hey I want to come in and help your girls,” and they allowed me to do it. So just being able to relate to those girls and show empathy and sympathy at the same time, I think that made it easier. And just letting them know this is a safe place for you to be able to express how you feel. So that’s how I got started, you know, working with those girls. 

And then was able to get more uniform and the program actually running when I was able to transfer and work at the Boys and Girls Club. My daughter was a student, and I’m just like, wow, what a way it is to come back full circle where I’m able to give back to an organization that kind of helped my students. So I was able to run an afterschool program at the Boys and Girls Club. And that’s where I birthed a program called Fight to Focus.

With my Fight to Focus initiative, I’ve been running with this program for the last maybe eight years. And within this initiative, we talk about the importance of owning your journey, accountability, how to overcome adversity, the importance of academics–meaning that, even though we don’t want these girls to know getting good grades determines your future, but it definitely does help while you’re in school. And then it challenges you to become a good learner, a good listener, a good teacher, just by incorporating those academics within your educational journey. So those are the three things that are incorporated within my Fight to Focus initiative.

Why Education is So Important

 I think that that is a really solid foundation for girls to start and then build upon. And sometimes they sound really basic, but there are a lot of adults who have not developed these skills. And so girls, if you can develop these at a much younger age, I mean, your potential just keeps expanding because of that. I wondered with the experience that you’ve observed and also that you’ve lived, why is it so important–especially today–that girls get an education?

NISHA: The way this economy and this society is currently going right now, I can’t even imagine what the next five to 10 years  look like. So my thing to these young girls now, a lot of you all don’t have responsibility. You live at home. This is the easiest time in your life that is going to be. Take advantage of your education because K through 12 is free. If you don’t take advantage of your education while you don’t have all of this responsibility that’s coming at you, you’re going to suffer and regret it. I feel like I want these girls to know that your education is something that nobody can take away from you. It’s something that you worked for. It’s something that you earned. And education is not just about going to school, graduating from high school, pursuing higher education. Education is something that you learn daily.

I did a recent workshop with some elementary students, and I used Beyonce as inspiration. And you know, the girls were like, “Well, Beyonce didn’t go to college. Why do I have to go to college? Or Beyonce didn’t do this.” I said, “But guess what? Education is about learning.” I said, “Beyonce had to go to school to learn how to sing, to learn how to dance.” I say, “That’s all about education, is developing those skill sets and knowledge that someone can never take from you and to make you better.” So I just want girls to know it’s not just about going to school. It’s about learning and teaching yourself all these particular skill sets that they can help you throughout your entire life and your journey.

I think that is  really great example to point out. And she’s an incredible business woman, all right? And Beyonce didn’t just naturally be like, Oh, I understand how to you do business! You’ve got to gain skills, whether you go through a traditional college plan or you learn a vocational skill or just like life skills. And so yes, while you may be groaning AWW back to school or I don’t like this class–you got to understand that sometimes just doing the work is going to benefit you, or what you’re learning could spark your interest into something else, so don’t discount it.  A lot of kids, they’re like, it’s not cool to like school, but they also have a lot of other pressures and struggles that they have. And so I wondered if you could share what obstacles prevent girls from graduating high school or pursuing more education beyond that.

Obstacles for Education

NISHA: Thank you for that question because what I want girls to know, that’s why that accountability is so important, and that can prevent you from graduating high school. One of the other reasons why I added accountability into the Fight to Focus initiative is because my daughter was in high school and she wanted to play volleyball. She was so excited, went to practice, was able to get on the team. A week and a half later, she get this letter, You do not have enough credit. And she was devastated. So that’s why I’ve incorporated accountability. As parents we already have a lot that we’re dealing with because we have big risk responsibilities. These kids don’t. So being accountable for your educational journey while you’re a student in school is very important. The students can’t keep depending on us as parents to monitor your credits, your classes. You can’t continue to go to the counselors–that’s something that you have to be accountable for. So by her not being accountable for her credits, her classes, her grades, she was devastated when she wasn’t able to be on this team and realized she didn’t have enough credits. But I’m thankful that we caught it early on because, guess what–had she been in high school and it was time to graduate,  she didn’t have that credit? There was nothing I could do. Those are the types of things that prevent our students from graduating high school.

Two is because of your economic environment, your household. Some students are just like, I can’t do this no more, I don’t have any support system and they drop out. So I am thankful for your organization and your podcast, my organization and my podcast, as well as the counselors at the schools and other different types of organizations that can help these students because it’s so easy to give up. Which is devastating.

 Yeah. I think you make a really good point that, there are some things that you have autonomy and control over, and you need to own that. You need to own your decisions. You need to own whether or not you were responsible, instead of blaming all of the other things that you could. It is a little uncomfortable to say, Hey, yep, that was on me and I need to take care of that.

And you also point out that there are other things outside of girls’ control, and that’s not their fault. And there are so many resources out there that can help. If you don’t have family support, like you said, you go to your counselor and they are so aware of what in your community can help you. That takes a lot of maturity and action on your part, and maybe more maturity than some of the adults that are in your life. But if you own that, then you are going to help set yourself up for your future and you’ll also gain a lot of confidence that, I didn’t just give up when it got hard, but I could keep going. 

NISHA:  Yes, that’s one of the things I teach the girls–overcoming adversity. Because that’s something that we always are going to be faced with. And one thing I do wanna piggyback on is, about a support system not only for the students, but there are so many support systems for parents. Because  if the parents are not aware, they can’t help the child. And what I’ve identified just throughout my journey is that sometimes these students don’t have advocates in a parent, they are not able to guide and lead them. So they’re like, you know what, if my parents can’t help me, then who else is going to help me? But I want parents to know also, it’s okay for you to reach out and ask for assistance as well. That’s very, very important.

 Yeah. And I think that that really helps build community. It takes a village– it  really does. It takes the village and that’s okay. We all want everyone to succeed. And so just knowing what’s out there–you’re right–is really important because you just don’t know until you know.

 NISHA: I’m so big on our students: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. That is so important because what I’ve learned, and it took me a minute to get here and as an adult, but I want our girls to know: if you do not ask, the answer is always going to be no. Always going to be no if you don’t ask. So just adapting that never give up spirit, I’m going to try spirit, can take you a long way. And don’t go through life, especially by being a student in school, being very passive. Always fight for things that you want and have a voice.

Overcoming Hurdles of Education

 Oh, that is so important. And I feel like there is more conversation about girls advocating for themselves, and we need to keep making that noise. We need to keep speaking up and standing out. Specifically with Educated Girls Rock, how do you help girls overcome the hurdles and help empower them? 

NISHA:  I’ve just incorporated different type of activities that we do at within the actual program, where we talk about different things when it comes to accountability, you know, definitely sharing stories and doing case studies on different girls and women. And then recently, I actually have a workshop coming up where we’re going to talk about leadership and being resilient. And one of the girls I’m going to highlight in that is Sha’Carri Richardson, because I just love her story of how she was able to overcome adversity and be resilient and never give up.

So just providing those girls with those resources, those case studies, those activities, it kind of allows them to have hands-on experience. One of the things that I do with them is I want them to understand the importance of accomplishments. So when I’m done with the girls, I always put them in a cap and a gown and let them know what it feels like to accomplish something and actually graduate. You know how it feels to walk across the stage and just receive that diploma, have your cap on and just  the excitement that you actually get.

 Oh man. Thinking back to that, I remember how much work it was, especially going through college, I didn’t take summers off, and so I pushed through, I worked incredibly hard. And after  all of that, it was so nice to take a moment and be like, I earned this, I did this work and, and I can celebrate my accomplishments. Thanks for letting me take a moment to reflect on that cause I have not thought about that day in a while.

Build Your Confidence

This could be any topic,  but what is the most important thing you want girls listening to know?

NISHA:  What I’ve learned is that if our girls don’t have the confidence to own their journey with accountability, to overcome adversity, to understand the importance of academics, then everything that I’m teaching them is going to be irrelevant. So building up your confidence, and tell yourself that I can do all things if I work hard and put my mind to it, I can do it. I think that’s one of the biggest things that I want girls to know. Do by any means necessarily what you think you need to do to fulfill and encourage yourself and build up your confidence because this society and this world will tear you down. And if you don’t have the confidence to be able to  accept it and adapt to what’s going to come in your future, it can definitely be overwhelming and challenging and just put you in a really dark space. So build your confidence up. 

How to Connect with Nisha + Educated Girls Rock

Oh, thank you for sharing that.  I, before we wrap up, I would love to have you share where people can find and connect with you.

NISHA: I  am your educated girl that rocked, and you can find me on all social media platforms. I am on TikTok. I am on Instagram @educatedgirlsrock, Facebook,  Twitter. Or you can google Educated Girls Rock and learn more about Educated Girls Rock and the programs and different things.

Fantastic. Oh, Nisha, it has been such a pleasure talking with you. I am just amazed at what you’ve been doing over the past 10 years with Educated Girls Rock and I cannot wait to see more from you. So thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

NISHA: Thank you  for having me. I look forward to seeing you again in the future!