Jasiri Toppin, a sophomore broadcast journalism student at Florida A&M University, is the pilot of an up and coming mentoring group called the Fabulously Liberated Young Girls in Tallahassee, Fla.
A concept conceived between friends in their dorm room is set to take flight in Spring 2015. While born into a life of service, Jasiri’s passion to give back was nurtured by FAMU culture, where community activism is commonplace.
“I’m a lover of service,” Toppin said. “I think FAMU has strengthened my love for service now because I realize it’s so easy to do. It doesn’t take a lot to help somebody.“
Toppin’s group, FLY Girls, focuses on nurturing middle school and high school girls through mentoring sessions focused on professionalism, education, beauty and wellness. Jasiri’s ultimate hope is to make connections beyond the session.
“I want those little girls to feel like that have someone to call on, “ said Toppin.
Toppin and the FLY Girls will have the opportunity to share with young women the helpful tips they wished someone had shared with them.
“Slow down,” Toppin said she would say to her younger self. “If you only knew what God had for you, you would take things as slow as possible. Don’t give up because you have no clue what the future is gonna hold. Everything is gonna be awesome.”
With close to 50 FLY Girl applicants, Toppin wishes to have small, tightknit group of mentors who share a likeminded responsibility and passion to give.
A recent interest meeting showed this group of young women will not be hard to find. Present was Laurie Fields, a junior elementary education student at FAMU. Fields sees this as an opportunity to have a positive affect on other’s lives.
“The sooner you make a positive impact on someone’s life, the better their lives can be. I just want to have the chance to do that,” Fields said.
Also on board to be a FLY Girl is Toppin’s’ close friend, Lissa Jules, who share’s the same view on service and has been on board since the conceiving of the idea. Jules is fully prepared to play the role of mentor, as she is aware that is a great responsibility.
“Mentoring is a powerful role to take in a young woman’s life,” Jules said.
Toppin’s feels that being involved with this group will be just as rewarding for the mentors as the mentees. FLY Girls will be active in the pitching, planning and execution of programs.
“I think they (mentors) can expect to make lifelong friends. A lot of the time we learn a lot about ourselves by helping others. They may also be able to pinpoint their strengths,“ Toppin said.
With such a great response to The FLY Girls, Tallahassee should expect Jasiri Toppin and her will crew of mentors to touch the lives of young women across the city.
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