Why did we choose to make a camp for 10-13 year old girls of faculty and staff at Swarthmore College? Why is this important?

Why 10-13 year old girls? We remember being in middle school. Sometimes it was hard, our bodies were changing, our friends were changing, we didn't know what was going on. Some of us had older friends, mothers, sisters, counselors, or teachers who we could talk to about all of this, and this made a big difference in how we felt about ourselves. We, the counselors, hope to be role models and big sister figures for our campers.

Research shows that we didn't just imagine that middle school was hard. The majority of middle school girls experience a drop in self-esteem, especially in school subjects where boys tend to dominate, and this often preceeds a drop in grades in those subjects. At Co/Motion, along with having fun and being friends with the girls, we hope to encourage the girls to have confidence in themselves and remind them that they can do anything.

Why girls of faculty and staff?
Swarthmore College is a wonderful place, and lots of great people work here, but they don't always interact and neither do their girls. As students, we are a part of the same Swarthmore community. We want to help to build this community by providing opportunities for all members to get to know and respect each other.