A Heroine in Her Own Back Yard

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a heroine as "a woman admired and emulated for her achievements and qualities." Erica Turner knows all about heroines. She found one in her own backyard.

Erica met her heroine in 1989 when she was a nine year-old girl living in an Atlanta community notorious for its violence. During this time, Erica was introduced to Cool Girls volunteer Joan Thomas who soon became her mentor through the Cool Sisters mentoring program. As Erica's mentor, Joan became her friend, supporter and role model. Sixteen years later, Joan and Erica still share a very special bond.

According to Erica, if it had not been for Joan, she would not be where she is today - a successful college graduate employed by Cool Girls partner, Georgia-Pacific Corporation! "She saved me from myself," says Erica.

Around the time Erica entered middle school, her interest in school took a nosedive and she soon began skipping classes. In an effort to keep her on track, Joan would often find Erica and take her back to school. Her involvement didn't stop there. Joan talked to Erica's teachers and found out that Erica's grades were poor and that her behavior was disruptive and unruly. Rather than punishing her, Joan spoke to Erica and discovered that she was very intelligent, but bored.

"I found that if Erica's mind wasn't engaged with something positive, she would engage it somewhere else," says Joan. Further conversations with Erica revealed that she was interested in science. Joan met with Erica's science teacher and asked her to give Erica interesting projects to work on. "The teacher started going over to the city park and finding animal skeletons. Erica's assignment was to identify what kind of animal it was," explains Joan. As a result, Erica became more attentive in school, interested in science, and was soon accepted to a science and technology magnet school.

While in high school, Joan took Erica with her on a road trip to New York. On the way back to Atlanta, they stopped at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a very prestigious college where students prepare to be scientists and computer experts. Joan told Erica that if she stayed in school and studied hard, she could one day become a student there. "Joan always made me believe that I could accomplish anything as long as I tried," says Erica.

In 2002, Erica became the first person in her family to graduate from college, earning a degree in Information Systems from Georgia Southern University.

"When I first met Erica, she was really shy, awkward, and had terrible grammar," says Joan. "Now she is a confident, proud, poised young woman with a wonderful future ahead of her."

Through her participation in Cool Girls and the Cool Sisters mentoring program, and with the support of caring adults like Joan Thomas, Erica has developed into a positive, confident young woman.

For more information about Cool Girls or Cool Sisters, please call 404.420.4362.