Raising GEMs: An Interview with Linda Strojan and Flo Holford
For the past fourteen years, Aiken High School’s GEM Program has helped young women reach their fullest potential. It all began in 2011 when Linda Strojan, then a guidance counselor at the high school, co-founded the program for an inaugural class of about twenty-five girls recommended by teachers and guidance counselors.
She and others involved in GEM wanted to give the girls skills they might not have learned at home, focusing on etiquette, communication, selecting a wardrobe, and applying to college. “The goal of the program was to connect mentors in our community—successful women—with these young women who needed a role model,” Linda shares.
Today, the program has grown to include around fifteen topics, addressing everything from financial literacy to exercise, nutrition, resumé writing, and more—all with the goal that their students will grow to lead successful, happy lives.
As the impact of the program increases, local organizations are stepping in to support all GEM represents. Once a year, the GEM girls visit The Willcox for a special dinner where they use a number of their learned skills. For the evening, they select appropriate attire for the occasion, use their best etiquette at the table, and afterward, write thank you notes.
Pearl Friends, a local fundraising group led by Flo Holford, now has a scholarship fund for GEMs. And each year, they give graduating GEMs a set of pearl earrings they can wear to their graduation ceremony and beyond.
“They are smart,” Linda says of the GEMs. “They are creative. They are enthusiastic. They want to succeed, and we hope we give them the way to do that.”
If you would like to become involved with the GEM Program, please email GuideEncourageMotivate@gmail.com or fill out their mentorship application form.
