Miss Galaxy Virginia visits Godwin Middle

The girls in Godwin Middle School’s Sophisticated Ladies club listened attentively as Miss Virginia Galaxy, Sharon Brown, spoke to them Monday afternoon.

But they really wanted to see her perform.

Brown obliged, singing a verse of “Amazing Grace” and showing off her pageant walk.

“You have to be poised and polished and you have to be confident,” Brown said as she walked across the stage. “Everything you do has to be confident.”

That was the overarching message Brown brought to the group of about 40 girls who gathered in the school’s lecture hall to hear her speak.

Brown told the girls that she didn’t always want to compete in pageants, but when she tried it, she found she liked it and was good at it.

“I felt like a plain Jane and I didn’t really love myself the way I should,” she said. “But when I got into it, I found it was something I really enjoyed.”

She told the middle schoolers that they should dream big and strive to meet their goals.

“How many of you in here have big dreams?” she asked.

All of the girls raised their hands.

One girl said she wanted to be a doctor. Another wants to be a lawyer. One girl said she wants to go to college.

“I just want to be successful,” said another.

“When you have all of these goals, you can be successful,” Brown said. “This is the time for you to explore and find out who you are on the inside.”

The Godwin students said they enjoyed meeting Miss Virginia Galaxy and hearing what she had to say.

“I liked that she’s going out and achieving her dreams and not just sitting around and waiting for stuff to happen,” said seventh- grader Ashley Fletcher.

“I liked what she said about how what you learn in school can be important later,” said eighth-grader Tiffany Dzietner.

Brown spoke during a meeting of the Sophisticated Ladies club, an after school mentoring program aimed at building the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls.

Each girl in the group is assigned a school staff member to be her mentor.

Throughout the school year, the girls learn about etiquette, beauty and hygiene, self-esteem and leadership. The members also participate in community service projects.

“Our goal is to offer our female students a new experience to encourage them to think positively through understanding ones self worth,” Judith Stewart, one of the club’s sponsors, said in an e-mail.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.