About – Girls Who Empower

Who We Are

G.W.E.

Girls Who Empower, Inc. is a non-profit organization passionate about collaborating with underprivileged and under-resourced incoming high school junior and senior girls who possess a dream and the drive to fulfill their God-given calling. We are dedicated to helping young women who are highly devoted to their personal development and who will invest in post-secondary advancement (i.e., two or four-year college/university, cosmetology, nursing, military, entrepreneurship, etc.). In addition to career guidance, our program is tailored to provide awareness and support in academics, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, health education, and finances.

We understand that only some young women have the necessary support or guidance when matriculating through and beyond high school. Therefore, we aspire to change this narrative by bridging the gap between the goals of those who lack support and their accomplishments. We exist to be the support young women need to achieve their goals despite their circumstances. We seek to help girls build or discover the confidence to achieve their goals. Girls Who Empower, Inc. exists to provide young ladies with the best resources to position themselves for future success.

What we believe

We believe Jesus Christ has assigned a unique calling to every young woman’s life, which is worth discovering and fulfilling.

We believe in providing a nurturing space to help young women: a) better understand their why, b) support them in what to achieve, and c) guide them on how to achieve.

We believe it is invaluable to understand your identity in Christ first, which will lead you to understand your calling.

We believe when given the proper guidance and support, every young woman can fulfill their calling.

We believe in being an accessible tool to aid in advancing under-resourced young women.

Mission

To empower young women so they can one day empower others.

Vision

To increase the number of young women in society who are confident, devoted to self-empowerment, and embrace the power they embody to impact the world.

Purpose

To bridge the gap between high school and post-high school advancement for underprivileged and under-resourced girls by providing the necessary support and resources to evolve mentally, emotionally, spiritually, academically, financially, and physically beyond the program.

WHO I AM

Shabria S. Smith

Founder & CEO

Shabria Smith, a native of Meridian, MS, is a follower of Jesus Christ, a wife, a sister, and a friend. She is a proud alumna of Spelman College, where she earned a B.S. in Chemistry, Morehouse School of Medicine, where she earned a Master of Science in Medical Sciences, and Fielding Graduate University, where she obtained a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Clinical Psychology. During her journey, Shabria has discovered that her calling involves helping women become emotionally, spiritually, and mentally healed as they discover their true selves, which will, in return, empower them to succeed.

Although Shabria is grateful for her academic and professional journey, transitioning from high school to college was not the most straightforward process. After attending a university for one year on a full scholarship, she felt led to step out on faith by releasing her scholarship to attend Spelman College. Freshman year clarified the environment she wanted to be immersed in, the career support she needed, and the college experience she wanted to remember. Through her experience, she recognized that even with her unique support system that significantly contributed to her success, she missed the critical component of having guidance through a more hands-on post-high school preparation. She knew many young women could not release a scholarship and transfer schools; some lacked the proper support and guidance to begin, and some were never offered help. This deficit created a burden and a passion for Shabria to provide underprivileged high school girls with a system that would increase their success in transitioning into life after high school.

Shabria received God's plan for GWE, inc. as a college junior in March 2015. During the preperation years of the program, she has been cultivating a system that would best serve her target women. Shabria is a woman who seeks to be a solution to a problem. She strives to inspire others through her story and be inspired by the stories of the women surrounding her. She lives by the Girls Who Empower, Inc. mission, "striving to empower young women so that they too can one day empower others."