It’s inspirational to see people with nothing build their empire and make their mark on the world. JMB gives us the opportunity to do this, to meet women CEOs."

Our 3rd annual summer retreat invited awardees and mentors to attend sessions on personal care, professional development, and money smarts. We practiced advocating for ourselves with Dr. Brandi Baldwin, CEO of Millenial Ventures Holding and one of Philadelphia’s 40 under 40. We learned from Cooking Alchemy’s Elizabette Andrade how to feed our mind and our body while sparing our wallet. And Wells Fargo’s Kyia Coleman helped us identify our money personality and strategies to work with it. All of these women shared their expertise and passion. They also shared their path and starting place, an inspiration for students starting from that same place.

In many ways, the retreat felt familiar. We ate and we bonded, and coffee and laughter fueled us through the day. But this year ushered in something new. We celebrated our first graduate!

Amy Chen, our first awardee, graduated in May from Juniata College with a BS in political science. She’s heading to basic training with the Army in August. Before she goes, we sent her off—girls-with-grit style. We let her know how much we love her and how proud we are! Refatun Momo, ’16 awardee and our next graduate, led the celebration with a speech about Amy’s impact on our community.

Take a look through our photo album for more from the day.