With a new school year comes many new opportunities for students at Florida A&M University. New friends, new classes or even new clubs.
Members of Becoming Her International are starting their first semester as an official organization on campus. The purpose of the organization is to “help, heal, empower, educate, and mentor young ladies on their journey to becoming their best selves. Through summer camp retreats, seminars, conferences, counseling and advising ladies throughout their journey.” Fourth year psychology student Exzabriana Barton is the founder and president. She started the organization as a way for young women to receive assistance on self improvement.
“My purpose for starting Becoming Her International is to help guide young ladies on their journey to becoming the best version of themselves,” Barton said. “While developing myself in these six aspects of life, mental, physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, social and health, I discovered that many other girls were going through the same process. They wanted to surround themselves with like-minded individuals. It was at that moment that I decided to launch Becoming Her International.”
Barton says the hardest part about starting the new organization was actually getting the process going.
“The most difficult part if starting a new organization was getting started. Honestly, God gave me a dream about starting Becoming Her International, but I was so confused. At that time, I was only getting paid $13 an hour, barely enough income to support myself,” Barton said. “I questioned God, I asked, ‘God how do you expect me to start a nonprofit when I literally have nothing to give?’ At that moment he responded, ‘Did I tell you to worry or did I give you a vision? I commanded you to start.’”
Aside from helping women with self growth, the organization also hosts monthly book club meetings. Junior elementary education major Shayna Vincent serves as the book club leader.
“My duties as book club leader are to host and organize our monthly book meetings. I take my time in planning out activities at our book meetings that will attend to the needs of ladies in the club,” Vincent said. “We do self love and bonding activities. My goals for the organization is for the ladies to heal, grow and truly achieve their HER.”
Vincent says her reasoning behind joining Becoming Her was to surround herself with positive women.
“I joined Becoming Her because I wanted to join a sisterhood that I could grow in at FAMU, while also being around like-minded women,” Vincent said.
An interest meeting was held Oct. 5, which consisted of an information session, interactive greetings and a Q&A segment. More information on joining can be found on either becomingherinternational.org, @becomingherfamu, or @becomingherintl on Instagram.