Ladies of Distinction at Kernersville Middle School Work to Empower Young Women

At Kernersville Middle School, the Ladies of Distinction step and flag team sponsored several events in conjunction with Women’s History Month in March.  

Teacher Marian Wilkins is the team’s coach. The theme for the month was Girls Rising above their circumstances both locally and globally.  The quote for the month was “An educated girl can empower herself, lift her family, help her community, change her country.”

On March 15, the Ladies of Distinction and the Kernersville branch of the Forsyth County Public Library sponsored a showing of Girl Rising, a movie that, in telling the stories of nine young women in poorer countries around the world, shows what an important role education plays.    

The Phi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority also helped sponsor the public screening. 

Admission was free. People were encouraged to make donations to the Girl Rising Fund, a global action campaign for girls’ education. “A huge ‘thank you’ to Stephanie Kellum for her help and expertise,” Wilkins said. Kellum is a youth services librarian for the Forsyth County Public Library. 

“A huge thanks to Deidre James from Rock 92 for facilitating our discussion after the movie,” Wilkins said.

Tatyanna Overton

On March 20, there was a Kernersville Middle School Women’s Luncheon for the staff. A number of area businesses donated food, including the Kernersville Chick-fil-A, the Walkertown McDonald’s, Giadas Trattoria, and Cakes and All Things Yummy.

On March 25, Melanee Mills, a counselor at Kernersville Middle, and Kenyetta Richmond with the Forsyth County Department of Social Services sponsored Girl Talk Q&A at the Kernersville library.  

Other events for the month sponsored by the Ladies of Distinction included a series of book talks about the book The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake.

Kyndel Smith

A number of people on the Kernersville Middle staff offered support during the month, including Principal Pam  Helms, assistant principal James Philippart, financial secretary Anita Linville, media coordinator Ann Webb, counselor Melanee Mills and teacher Cathy Musci.

Wilkins also wanted to thank former members of Ladies of Distinction who helped: Serena Crosby-Brown and Jocelyne Alfar-Ruiz, who are freshmen at East Forsyth High, Sierra Tomlison, a sophomore at East Forsyth, and Miah Bryant, a junior at East Forsyth.

Jessie Ramirez