The YWCA of Corpus Christi hosted the four-day program. Each of the speakers offered different messages, but they all emphasized the importance of setting life goals. For four days, young women from Falfurrias have traveled three hours, round-trip for a unique program in Corpus Christi. Every day, the preteens took over the YWCA to listen to local women in leadership positions.

Each of the speakers offered different messages, but they all emphasized the importance of setting life goals. “Planting those seeds of making sure that they understand the foundational principles of living an amazing life,” Liza Wisner said. Wisner works for the City of Corpus Christi and as a social entrepreneur; she has her website, powerup.org.

The ladies Wisner spoke on Thursday are in a critical part of their lives — junior high school. Wisner said this is the time when young women are easily influenced which is why she delivered a persuasive speech on living intentionally in the present for a prosperous future.

She also discussed the importance of being open to growth. “The difference between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, that is so critical,” Wisner said. The entrepreneur lit a spark in the young mind of Reyna Shockree, a seventh grader from Falfurrias Junior High. “It’s been, and I’ve experienced other girls want to be more self-confident and build up their self-esteem and talk to other people,” Shockree explained.

Even though she’s only a middle schooler, Shockree has big plans to be a singer, and in the meantime, she plans on succeeding in her education, just like her classmate Lillian Rosas. “To graduate high school with honors and graduate college,” Rosas stated. The young women learned how to have more confidence in themselves. Shockree said although the week of learning is over, she’ll never forget the inspirational speeches. After Wisner’s presentation, she determined she would share the newly-found confidence with others. “A lot of girls they don’t have a lot of self-confidence in them, and I feel like I didn’t have any either, so this is what helped me.”

At the end of her speech, Wisner left the preteens with a powerful message. “Where focus goes, energy flows, what you’re focused on is how you’re gonna end up, your past gives you the tools you need for your present to build your future.”