Last Year

      The physical location of AKOG on Clark's local college campus and the basis of its mentor support system provide a unique experience. Girls in the AKOG program interact first hand with college age young women only a few generations older than themselves. The program provides an opportunity for girls to become familiar with one particular college environment and some of its female students so that they may grow more comfortable in asking questions and thinking seriously about their future career and life path choices.

      AKOG is a program designed to inspire and cultivate independent thinking and action skills in generations of young women. It is a collaborative space for girls to explore their far reaching potential as political agents and community activists in evolving world and life relations.

Select an event in the table below to read a description:

Halloween: Girls and Mentors dress-up in costume and go trick or treating in the Clark Undergraduate dorms. This is an initial fun day where the girls get to know one another and the mentors in a fun and safe way. During this activity girls are introduced to the living situations of college students at Clark as a way beginning to think about college education as within their reach.

Getting to Know You Games: A variety of fun collaborative and cooperative games provide a setting where girls share with others who they are and learn about their peers and college mentors as well.

Teamwork Day: Girls along with their mentors participate in challenging educational games that allow them to dynamically build trust and experience safety within a group setting of their peers.

Culture Day: Girls are introduced to the variety of cultures that exists within their local community. This day is focused on exposing girls to the strengths and challenges that diversity brings to group situations. Mentors support youth in developing skills that encourage individual self-respect for differences and similarities between themselves and their peer group.

Beauty Day: Concepts of beauty across cultures and over time are explored as changing and shifting notions that exist in of fluid political and social frameworks. Dominant myths that present beauty as a singular concept are broken down and challenged. Girls are given the opportunity to explore, expose, expand and share their own ideas about ?beauty? and cultural beauty myths that present significant influences in their own daily lives.

Celebrating Our Differences and Similarities: This day of interactive activities provides a space for girls to revisit and reconsider the richness and relevance of multiculturalisms and diversity within their local communities and broader international contexts. Individual differences are celebrated as strengths and resources that enhance peer groups and friendship relations.

Spontaneity Day: Being silly and spontaneous girls explore their artistic and creative desires to move, shout, run, make funny faces and enjoy being spontaneously human in a safe and supervised environment. On this day, being in your body and expressing your mind freely are the focus of mentor led and peer participatory activities.

Worcester Day: Girls and mentors explore the rich history and cultural diversity of the Worcester wide community. Annual activities vary, but may include visits to local, museums, historical sites, and shops, discussions with storeowners and female entrepreneurs about their work, life, and business history in the greater Worcester county.

Magazine Day: Girls and mentors tear through, tear apart and recreate magazine imagery in collage style format. At the close of the day, girls may choose to share with the larger group what their artistic collage creation means to them or says about how living in this world as a girl could look and feel different.

Women's History Day: Girls explore numerous diverse female historical contributors that have influenced the shaping of the world through their involvement in the sciences, arts, humanities, and politics.

Dance Day: Music from around the world and popular culture provide an environment for exploring movement and dance.

Art Day: A variety of art forms from clay to painting provide the mediums through which girls can express, explore, ad share their creative drives and visions.

Singing with Counterpoints: All female Clark undergraduate acapella group joins the AKOG girls and mentors to explore the wonders of vocal expression. An annual performance of a group-learned song is performed for friends, family, and the wider community during the end-of the-season final play performances.

Day Of Performances: The girls along with the mentors put on plays written by the girls for family, friends and the Clark community.