Seventh grade girls from all across the Upper Valley came together at the College yesterday for the annual Sister-to-Sister conference — an event facilitating discussions related to women’s community — hosted by the mentorship organization Link Up. Over 130 students gathered from eight different schools, the highest attendance ever since the conference began in 2000.
Beginning at 8 a.m. in Alumni Hall, the day’s programming included scavenger hunts, guest speakers and a “Crossing the Line” exercise.
At this year’s event, each undergraduate facilitator joined nine middle school students to discuss themes such as bullying, friendships, self-discovery and reflection.
“The goal of the conference is to give girls a space to talk through the tougher issues that come up during middle school, especially for young girls, like body image, bullying, confidence, and being proud of who you are,” Link Up executive board member Jessica Zischke ’16 said.
Link Up facilitator Audrey Scott ’19, said it is helpful for girls to meet people like themselves who have gone through similar problems.
“I think it would’ve been beneficial to not feel as alone in middle school because it’s really easy for that to happen,” she said.
Sunapee Middle High School seventh grader Mikayla Passage said that she came to the conference because she got to miss classes, but ended up finding the event very helpful.
“I get to have my feelings out and not feel awkward,” she said. “They said ‘be yourself and love you for yourself.’”
Jackie Watkins, a counselor at Sunapee Middle High School, said that the conference is valuable because it provides students with an opportunity to think about global issues pertaining to gender and female roles.
“I think it’s about community and support among students, whether males or females,” she said. “Just be kind and try to always put your best foot forward.”
Hartford Middle School counselor Brenda Greene said the best part of the conference is that seventh grade girls can meet and connect. Greene added that their connections may extend beyond the day’s events.
Zischke said that the conference is continuing to grow in scale in terms of participation from both middle school students and undergraduate volunteers.
“It will be interesting to see how the program develops as the topics change and evolve,” she said. “Obviously, technology and social media are more widespread than when I was in seventh grade even, and that just changes the whole playing field of how bullying plays out and how you interact with your friends.”
She said she hopes Link Up will mature alongside these emerging influences so that it can effectively address these issues.
The Sister-to-Sister conference started out as a program encouraging girls to enter STEM fields, but transitioned into a more community-building event in recent years. In addition to hosting the conference, Link Up organizes dinner panels and mentorship programs for undergraduate women.
Zischke is a former member of The Dartmouth senior staff.
Paulomi Rao contributed reporting.
