Emphasis: Strategical Organization
Project name: Coy to Confident
Project Summary
For my senior project “Coy to Confident,” I volunteered with the Mini-Cassia Distinguished Young Women 2023 Scholarship Program, for Junior-aged high school girls, happening this semester in Burley, Idaho. This national program has provided over $1 billion in scholarships in past years. I participated as an interview coach and a presentation trainer for the 30 + girls involved, to prepare them for the scholarship program categories “interview” and “self-expression.” Through weekly group practices as well as private coaching sessions that I held in my home with other adults present, I helped transform coy girls into confident young women. I also took over and ran the social media accounts for the program, providing information to both the girls involved and the public. In doing so I also created program exposure, gained and highlighted area sponsors, and earned local support for the incredible program.
Official Presentation Video
Why “Coy to Confident?”
As a junior in high school, I participated in the Mini-Cassia, Idaho Distinguished Young Women scholarship program myself! I worked hard at weekly practices to improve my interview and self-expression skills – as they were two of the program categories that most competing young ladies feared. Show night came and the awards ceremony reflected my hard work and new found joy in confident speaking and influencing. I was privileged to win the categories of “Interview” and “Self-Expression,” taking home one thousand dollars in scholarship money for college.
My incredible self-growth experience in the DYW program inspired me to pursue a college degree in communication studies. Throughout my schooling at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Brigham Young University-Idaho, I was pleased that my chosen major specifically highlighted plenty of what I hoped for: public speaking, professional presentations, professional writing, and life skills, among other valuable courses. I especially excelled in and loved the public speaking and professional presentations courses- something I attribute to my DYW training and experience. I quickly decided that the dream job for me would be to train others in confident speaking and presenting; so for my senior project I joined the Mini-Cassia 2023 Distinguished Young Women committee as an interview coach, and it has been absolute bliss.
What’s the Big Deal?
According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, 75% of people rank the fear of public speaking (whether to a group or a single person) number one on the scale of biggest fears. In a world where speaking is so often required in meetings, interviews, consultations, presentations, and more, a fear of it can seriously hold a person back from reaching their potential. My goal was to not only prepare these girls for DYW, but to also prepare them for life. The DYW program teaches young women about fitness, nutrition, interview skills, confident self-expression, talent development, and much more.
Project Timeline
| Distinguished Young Women Interview coach & Social Media Manager | Mondays = One on one interviews Thursdays= Weekly DYW practices Any= Coordinating meetings, schedule building, and social work |
| TIME | WORK |
| 3 hours | DYW coordinators first meeting |
| 1 hour | Create two informational instagram post invitations to spread word of program |
| 8 hours | Attend DYW informational meetings with head chairmen for five high schools in the area + travel |
| 1 hour | Brainstorm ideas for social media page advertising / marketing |
| 2 hours | Create social media content about upcoming first practice and post from DYW social media page |
| 1 hour | Increase followers on DYW social media accounts to gain exposure by following local families |
| 2 hours | Create posts for DYW social media. Post to feed and create story posts for extra exposure about program |
| 2 hours | Attend coordinators meeting with committee |
| 3 hours | Attend and train in interview at DYW weekly practice |
| 1 hour | Create social media post about upcoming host mom meeting + weekly practice |
| 1 hour | Create social media post highlighting girls from recent practice |
| 3.5 hours | Attend and train at weekly DYW practice |
| 1 hour | Post to social media about upcoming weekly practice and increase followers by following local accounts |
| 1 hour | Coordinate personal one on one meeting schedule for personal interview practices |
| 1 hour | Create social media post about upcoming practice & 2023 schedule – and interact with post |
| 6 hours | One on one interview training with 7+ girls individually |
| 1 hour | Coordinate personal one on one meeting schedule. for personal interview practices |
| 1 hour | Coordinate personal one on one meeting schedule for personal interview practices again |
| 1 hour | Attend coordinating meeting with committee |
| 1 hour | Quick zoom meetings / touching base through email / check ins with mentor Brother Marc Skinner |
| 2 hours | Create and post weekly practice updates, photos, and videos to DYW social media |
| 6 hours | One on one interview coaching sessions with 7+ girls individually |
| 2 hours | Attend and train at DYW weekly practice |
| 6.5 hours | One on one interview coaching sessions with 7+ girls individually |
| 1 hour | Schedule and coordinate for following month of one on one interviews – contact and remind girls |
| 2 hours | Attend and train at DYW weekly practice and fundraiser event – take photos as well |
| 30 minutes | Create and post photos and videos from fundraiser event |
| 30 minutes | Create and post photos and videos from fundraiser event |
| TOTAL TIME TO DATE | 62 Hours |
Work Load
I was able to contribute to my senior project heavily in a few specific ways.
First, I attended coordinating meetings with the DYW committee and chairmen, as well as weekly DYW practices where I was an interview coach for 30 + girls each week. I gave trainings, coached groups of girls, and contributed to comments given by the head chairmen of the program.
Second, I singlehandedly ran the DYW Mini-Cassia Instagram and Facebook social media platforms, posting weekly updates, photos, videos, and information to the girls and the public. I created content and posted it to the page feed weekly.
Third, I took my end goal a step further and offered free one on one individual trainings in my own home for 7+ girls each Monday. Two or more additional adults were always present.
Process and Outcomes
Below are my initial scratch plans of everything I wanted to do in being a speech and interview coach for the girls, and everything that gave me credibility. I wrote this all up before attending my first coordinating meeting on the DYW board. It went beautifully because I was prepared. Permission was given for names and information included.
Attending weekly practices gave me golden opportunities to take photos and videos, take notes, and provide trainings for the girls involved. Below are some examples of moments I captured at weekly practices. This helped me document this year’s group of girls in the social media pages. All parental and individual photo and name permission was fully granted.
Between all the elements of my senior project including attending meetings, training girls at weekly practices, holding private additional practices, and running the DYW Mini-Cassia area social media pages, my very favorite of all was holding private additional practices. I saw so much growth come from the girls through these vulnerable and vigorous practices. My text message inbox at first looked a lot like this:
After just one or two practices, my text messages from the girls starting looking more like this:
The “Thank You’s” came pouring in, and these girls have let me know all the ways that I have helped them. This before and after experience of interactions with the girls meant so much to me, that I made it my presentation table start.
Presentation Table Close View
Social Media portion
I really enjoyed also taking over the social media pages for the DYW Mini-Cassia area. I used the applications Instagram, Band, and Facebook to provide weekly information to the girls and their parents, as well as earn support and gain exposure locally. This also helped us draw in more sponsors AND have a way to highlight them publicly. Instagram was most heavily used.
Included below is a QR scan code to the Mini-Cassia DYW instagram page where you can see 40+ feed and story posts that I contributed to and posted on the page. These were also linked to Facebook. The account is public, so access to all photos, videos, and posts are approved for public view.
The social media instagram platform interaction rate looked like this initially: (When I first got it, the number of followers was 666)
After working some social media magic over the course of my senior project, the page now looks like this:
The amount of followers has risen by almost 200 people since I’ve been running it, and is continuing to grow. This shows the fast working effects of continuous posting, engagement with followers, and public / local outreach. – All parental and individual photo and name permission was fully granted.
Insight
Over all, this project was incredible. I truly feel that there isn’t a single other project option possible that would have highlighted everything I am most passionate about in my major, and that would have allowed me use all my favorite things I have learned as a communication student at BYU-Idaho. I now feel incredibly prepared for and confident in a future career in my field
Sources Cited
Ladouceur, P. (n.d.). What we fear more than death. MentalHelp.net. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/what-we-fear-more-than-death/