My name is Saycon Sengbloh.
I’m an actress, and artist, and a supportive friend, constantly seeking ways to inspire young women to express their full potential. As a kid I joined a theater company called, the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta. This theater company, under the artistic direction of Freddie Hendricks, was filled with young actors and writers, performers so passionate about expressing themselves and learning how to be themselves more authentically.
As a young girl with American and immigrant parentage, I had a lot of self-doubt. I didn’t exactly fit in. This organization helped me gain more confidence as I entered my teen years. From the age of 15, as a young performer, I was required to express myself with pride and dignity. There were moments when I had doubts, moments when I questioned my physical self, questioned my talents and abilities but my mentor Freddie Hendricks always encouraged me to stand strong.
In my adulthood, I rarely come across organizations that do just that, so I’m thrilled to tell you about the “I AM THAT GIRL” organization, how beautiful to have something focused on girls and loving themselves as perfectly imperfect. As an actress, I spend a great deal of time pretending to be someone else. And many actresses I know are constantly into finding flaws, being put before cameras and bright lights can do that to you. People can get hard on themselves; forget to nurture ‘self’.
I AM THAT GIRL program does just that, the young women are required to take a pledge to find the beauty in themselves and others and seek to be the best that they can be. This can be quite daunting in a world that often treats young women as second class citizens. I was so thrilled to know that chapters all across the world, all across the country are focused on the same type of empowerment I was able to receive in my youth. Through the I AM THAT GIRL program young girls can be sponsored to help and allow opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and a truly supportive community.
These things are important in a society where fitting in and social media has taken over such an active space. I AM THAT GIRL presents alternative options to some of the more negative or disaffirming, social pop-culture out there today. I urge you to get to know this organization, get involved to make a donation to introduce this program to a young girl you know and to seek out one of the local chapters as soon as possible! You will not be sorry!
If there’s no chapter in your community, you can even start your own because through “I AM THAT GIRL” shifting girl culture locally is imperative! The organization deals with tough topics that are not often spoken of in the public medical diagnosis, self-harm, and homelessness, loss of parents to name a few things. I found my confidence and voice through theater arts but these young women can find their voices in whatever expression activity or vocation they choose, and simultaneously that vital soul in a young woman is preserved and nurtured.
Click here to learn more about Saycon.
