We were lucky to catch up with Susan Schooner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Susan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

When I started volunteering in 2003, I anticipated “having fun” with middle school girls. I never imagined I’d receive daily lessons about the necessity of safe spaces, the need to find and use our voices, and the ways that an intentional community can address the root causes of poverty. I am grateful to have worked with students, parents, and schools to address the countless barriers that prevent kind, intelligent girls and young women from graduating high school and college, and living economically and emotionally self-sufficient lives.

I am filled with awe, as I ponder Girls Group’s development and growth over the last 20 years. Both in terms of students served, as well as the depth of services offered. We started with nine hopeful 6th graders, who are now 32 years old and still inform our programming services. Today, we serve 1100 girls and young women, and their families, year-round.
We’ve grown together, and found resilience, success, and community along the way. It’s inspiring that Girls Group participants of all ages have a strong desire and commitment to mentor others.

Girls Group changes the narrative on generational poverty. We remove barriers to participation by providing transportation, meals, supplies, childcare at family programs, and emergency/crisis support. All of our programs and services are 100% free, and we also provide financial support for needed educational items, including laptops, school supplies, emergency funding, and scholarships. This ensures participants have access to opportunities regardless of time, money, or resource constraints.

Girls Group’s year-round, continuum of programs focus on four core themes that are shown to improve educational, career, and social-emotional outcomes for youth including: Academic Readiness, Social-Emotional Readiness, Financial Empowerment, and Community Service Learning. Our research- and practice-informed curriculum begins with building
a college & career mindset in 6th grade, and continues after graduation.

Susan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Girls Group began in 2003 with a single handwritten question pulled from a box and the difficult and honest discussion it prompted between a group of new mentors and middle school girls. After the session, I started weekly meetings which in time turned into the robust programming and mentorship provided by Girls Group today.

Girls Group helps participants to stay in school, develop a college mindset, graduate from high school, become first-generation college students, and create lives with successful careers and healthy relationships. Our 20-year history clearly demonstrates that involvement with Girls Group changes the trajectory of a student’s life, and positively impacts future generations.

The statistics are daunting. Almost 30% of students who are low-income or students of color, will not graduate from high school. And, students who dropout of high school are 150% more likely to live in poverty than their peers who graduate. Over the last 21 years, 100% of participants actively involved in Girls Group have defied the odds and graduated from high school.

We believe that through educational and financial empowerment, Girls Group participants can show the world that even the most disadvantaged students, when given permission and support to succeed, can defy the odds and realize their dreams. Shifting this mindset at an early age is critical to ensuring all young women have equal opportunity to get to and through college, and ultimately reach emotional and economic self-sufficiency.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Despite my multiple battles with cancer, I continue to find inspiration in this organization and our participants. In my 21 years of operating Girls Group, my life has been enriched beyond any measure I ever expected. In creating a loving community, I’ve found the love that I was searching for during my youth and young adulthood. Girls Group participants have shown me bravery, resilience, humor, acceptance, and love.

As the daughter of an Army father, I moved consistently during my youth. There are challenges and advantages of this history. One of the advantages was that I became comfortable frequently navigating new people and situations. Additionally, I realized the necessity of maintaining a good attitude regardless of the circumstance. The constant change I experienced during my young years, however, resulted in a feeling of disconnection, a sense that I was perpetually an outsider.

In envisioning and guiding Girls Group over the past 21 years, I have channeled essential components from my varied life experience to enrich and improve the lives of the girls who participate. I didn’t realize the levels of poverty, trauma, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that happens consistently in an affluent community like Ann Arbor. I was inspired, and continue to be inspired, by the resiliency, energy and determination of these young women who were often overlooked by their school systems.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

After retiring from a successful career as an automotive executive, I wanted to make a profound difference in my community. In my career, I excelled in strategy, finance, networking, and leadership. For my next chapter, I wanted to lean into my heart and motivate and inspire young women. In retrospect, I also wanted to provide these young women with both the benefits of my growing up, as well as the benefits I wish I had. I appreciate the encouragement and resources that helped me to become a successful student and then businessperson. I also wanted the young women to have the love, community, acceptance, and emotional support that I didn’t have as a child.

Girls Group helps young women to find and share their voice, to advocate on their own behalf, to set goals and follow through, and to build healthy relationships. As I grew older, I learned to find and share my voice and realized how difficult this is women (younger and older!) Also, as I aged, I finally realized that healthy relationships are essential for emotional and physical well-being and success. Many people have said to me, “The person who has grown the most through Girls Group is You!” Girls Group taught me to listen, to empathize, to nurture, and to increase my curiosity. This was such a blessing after an education and career built on competition, workaholic behavior, and often equating success with money earned. (And yes, there was love too, although not as the top priority.)

Spending 21 years at Girls Group has been the greatest blessing of my life. The organization has forever changed the lives of thousands of young women, who deserve all the mentoring, tool kits, financial resources, and community we provide. And as I opened my heart, so did countless others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.girlsgroup.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GirlsGroupA2/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlsgroupa2
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/girls-group-a2/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GirlsGroupA2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlsGroupAnnArbor

Image Credits

Sudeep Studio