Our Alumnae
Since the inception of Excellence Girls’ Club in 2000, over 90 members from Woodside High School, Churchland High School and River Crest Community Center have graduated from high school. After graduating from our program members are able to take the skills they learned and excel in post secondary education, choose rewarding careers and even volunteer their time with current EGC participants. Our alumnae are tomorrow’s leaders.
To investigate the impact of Excellence Girls’ Club, Inc. on graduated members, a retrosurvey was administered in May 2007 during an Excellence Girls’ Club reunion. The results are as follows:
Half of the alumnae who responded to the survey have continued involvement in their community as much as five years after their graduation from the club. Of those who are still involved in the community, 90% are in a leadership position. Perhaps most striking is that almost unanimously, graduated members credit their participation in EGC for their desire to help the community. In addition, 100% of graduated members who were surveyed strongly agreed that EGC helped prepare them for the challenges of college, work, and relationships. Moreover, in open-ended questions, former members stated that EGC has increased their self-esteem and self-respect.
To gain intimate insight into Excellence Girls’ Club, Inc. and its alumnae, interviews by members of the Junior league of Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Inc. were conducted. The responses are as follows:
Candice
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2006 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club
River Crest, Chesapeake, VA - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
1 year - What is your current career status (College, Workforce, Military, other)?
Full Time student at TCC studying Business Administration and a current sponsor with River Crest Community Center (Middle School) Excellence Girls Club. - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
“EGC informed me of the pressures that are out there as college students. Pressures that we have to deal with. We all know if we ever need anything we know we can call Ms. Madison” - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
“We threw a sweet sixteen birthday party for a girl at Edmarc Children’s Hospice. We all had a great time throwing it for her.”
Ebony
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2004 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club?
Woodside, Newport News, VA - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
2 years - What is your current career status (College, Workforce, Military, other)?
Full time student at VCU studying Sociology - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
“I was a more introverted person, being in EGC forced me to open up to others, to be more comfortable with others. It helped me grow in to more of a people person” - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
“Going on the Retreat. One of the breakthrough moments for me happened during the Retreat. We had to open up to the other girls. It forced me to find myself. There was one part where we were asked the question ‘Who am I?’ and I had to stop and ask myself ‘Wait, who am I? What am I doing? Where am I going?’
“The Retreat was a lot of fun, hanging out with the girls.”
Maria
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2007 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club?
River Crest, Chesapeake, VA - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
2 years - What is your current occupational status?
Full time student at Virginia State University studying Biology. - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
“The different activities allowed me to interact with others. The workshops about school and money helped me.” - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
“The Retreat last year, the bonding experience was fun.”
Standic
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2002 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club?
Woodside High School, Newport News - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
All 4 years of high school - What is your current occupational status?
Currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Counseling. Part-time In-Home Counselor. Completed Bachelor’s in Sociology - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
Life preparation: Self esteem “training” (traveling and doing the workshops for EGC, etc.) Really helped prepare me for chosen profession, counseling. The self esteem workshops taught me to be assertive while managing emotion. - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
The mother-daughter session – where we displayed our thoughts of each other on opposite sides of the same poster board. The discussion that followed between the mothers and daughters helped me to open up to my mother.
Kelly
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2003 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club?
Woodside High School, Newport News, VA - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
One year - What is your current occupational status?
Completed Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, applying to law school, currently employed as an insurance agent. - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
Stressed the importance of SAT and college preparation/application, social skills in getting along with other girls in dorm, skills really helped her as a mediator and as a resident advisor in dorm. - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
Mother-Daughter session, sharing with her mom.
Wanda
- What year did you graduate from high school?
2005 - What is the site at which you participated in Excellence Girls Club?
Woodside High School, Newport News, VA - How many years were you a participating member of EGC?
Three years - What is your current occupational status?
Junior at Virginia Tech, majoring in Psychology - How did EGC prepare you for life after high school?
Opened up a lot of opportunities, Ms. Madison helped her find programs and conferences that helped prepare her for the future and develop her goals. Decided on psychology in honor of Ms. Madison, she is my mentor. - What is your fondest memory of EGC?
The retreat at Sandbridge her junior year.
Interviews
Alumnae of Excellence Girls’ Club, Incorporated who would like to be interviewed, please contact us and complete the form.
Retrosurvey
Excellence Girls’ Club, Inc. has developed a retrosurvey to assess the impact of Girls’ Club on its alumnae. If you are willing to complete the retrosurvey and have not done so in the past two years, please contact us.