“I know that girls can be anything that they want to be,” said featured speaker Barbara Ibarra Keyani as she shared her moving story of going “beyond her barrio” to UCSB, MIT, becoming a mother of two daughters now in college and her current position with the Santa Barbara School Districts with the 80 girls and 50 women who participated in Girls Incorporated’s annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day on May 24.
Three of those “daughters of this community” came to work at the South Coast Beacon. Here’s what they had to say about their adventures in the workplace.
Brittney Cotledge (La Colina Junior High)
Take your daughter to work day inspired me even more to be a news reporter for the newspaper. Before I signed up to go to take your daughter to work day at home I would create my own newspaper about what happened at school, home, and in my neighborhood. Now I know a better way to make my newspaper at home. I also learned something else never use Google when making an advertisement. Another thing I learned is what other jobs there is in the news press business like an account executive also an art director and what I will eventually be a news reporter. Another thing I learned is when I get stuck on a idea to eat chocolate they toke us to the candy shop on state street to buy some chocolate mmmmmmmm it was yummy had a lot of fun on this field trip and I hope to do it again in the future. Now I want to be a news reporter a lot more than before. One day I will be a great reporter for the Beacon, thanks to Leslie Dinaberg (reporter) Cynthia Mahoney (account executive) and Andrea Russell (art director) for inspiring me to work for the newspaper.
Lee Weinsoff (Goleta Valley Junior High)
On May 24, 2005 I took a day off from school. Instead I got to spend the day having fun with some of the staff of The Beacon for Girls Inc.’s thirteenth annual take our daughters to work day. I was assigned a mentor with an account executive Cynthia Mahoney but there were two other mentors and students who all worked for The Beacon so we all went together. When we got to the office Brittney Cotledge, Shelby Abkin, and myself watched as Andrea Russell changed an ad for the beacon. Then we learned more about being a reporter from Leslie Dinaberg and being an account executive from Cynthia. Next we went to go take pictures of story time at the public library but got there too late. So we decided to go watch a trial going on instead. Afterwards we went to lunch at a great Italian restaurant and then just happened to stumble into a candy shop. So I had a great time. Thanks guys!
Shelby Abkin (La Colina Junior High)
I was lucky enough to get to participate in a program put on by Girls Inc. on Tuesday 24, 2005. It was called Take Your Daughter to Work Day. I was paired up with Andrea Russell from the Beacon. We went with Cynthia Mahoney, and Leslie Dinaberg. Their “daughters” were Lee Weinsoff, and Brittney Cotledge. First we got to go to their office and see what they did for a living. We also got to meet all of the people. After that we went and watched a court trial because sometimes reporters have to right about trials that are big deals. After that we went to lunch at Palazzio, and on our walk back to the car stopped in at the Sweet Alley. Then we headed back to Earl Warren Showgrounds to be picked up by our parents. I had a blast, and will definitely do it again next year.
Originally published in South Coast Beacon (2005)