Far more than talking

When Katrina Brown finishes writing her screenplay, she's going to send it to Steven Spielberg. Brown's motivation stems from frustration. "Every time I watch a horror movie I know how it's going to end," Brown says. "I see there are things missing." So, Brown has decided to conceive her own horror flick. But sitting within the walls of West Philadelphia's University City High School, the road to Brown's dreams of screenwriting success looks quite a bit bumpier. Fortunately for Brown, there is Girl Talk -- a volunteer mentoring program that helps smooth the way to success for inner-city high school females. More than three years ago, a high school English teacher with a vision and a few dedicated Penn students formed the organization, which currently includes five undergraduates and 13 UCHS students. Now in its fourth year, Girl Talk has evolved from a scantily attended after-school group to a twice weekly full-fledged program. Penn volunteers send students on field trips to Reading Terminal Market, hold photography workshops and offer yoga lessons. College senior Lauren Sypek, an original member of Girl Talk, recalls the initial hesitation from some UCHS students when she took them rock climbing. "None of the girls wanted to try to climb the rock wall," says Sypek, Girl Talk's West Philadelphia Improvement Corps Coordinator. "They were very skeptical, afraid of messing up their hair, clothes, nails." The fundamental goal of Girl Talk remains the same today as at its inception. Volunteers strive for a safe, women-only environment for high school juniors and seniors to receive academic help, discuss women's issues and just plain chat it up. Inspired by Girl Talk, several Penn undergraduates last spring started Fellas, a male counterpart. And another Girl Talk program holds sessions at Edison High School in North Philadelphia. Sypek can still remember the fear and uncertainty she felt entering UCHS the first time. "When I first walked into that school three years ago, I was completely intimidated." Sypek says. "The space is overwhelming and the students were different from any others I had encountered in my life. I felt like I would have nothing in common with them. I thought they were going to eat me alive." Indeed, the guarded metal detectors which frame the school's entrance might slightly deter any student educated at a suburban middle class high school. This atmosphere no longer bothers Sypek, however. Stationed in a computer lab that also serves as the Girl Talk classroom, she and the other Penn volunteers lead a group through literary discussions, holding casual conversations and even reprimanding the students when necessary. Sypek admits that volunteering at an inner city high school is not easy. "The obstacles [the students] face are incredibly large," Sypek says. "It can be disheartening to have a student tell you about an abusive home life or see her drop out of school and not be able to fix their problems for them." Girl Talk struggles with financial burdens as well. The program, largely supported by private donations, currently receives no funding from the high school. Despite setbacks, every Monday and Wednesday the women journey two blocks north of Penn's campus to UCHS, armed with snacks and a lesson plan devised earlier in the week. Recently, the lesson plan offered Girl Talk students a taste of foreign culture. The group invited British University students to the school for a question-and-answer session. "I was amazed and shocked," says Brown, who is a student in this semester's group. "Not only was I learning about a different area, but I was talking to someone from that area." Other students were horrified to learn that prices in Britain are higher than in America. Several of the girls decided that they would never live in Britain, under such penny-pinching circumstances. However, their opinions quickly changed upon discovering that the legal drinking age in that country is only 18. UCHS junior Dominique Easterling says she enjoyed the eye-opening encounter. "It was good for us to exchange what happens there and what happens here," Easterling says. "They don't have much violence like guns and drugs." Easterling's a fan of Girl Talk. Like Brown, she hopes for big things for her future -- dreams she shares with the group. She hopes to become a famous choreographer someday. Sypek says that seeing her students realize their dreams is one of the most rewarding aspects of the program. "I have made invaluable friendships with both UCHS and Penn students though the program and still keep in touch with some past members of the program on both ends," Sypek adds. Sypek's face brightens as she describes how she wants to attend a former Girl Talk student's graduation ceremony. The student, who had been in a remedial class before joining the program, will leave UCHS at the top of her class. On a more bittersweet note, Sypek reveals that she recently attended the first birthday party for the child of another Girl Talk alumna in her late teens. Sypek knows that these milestones are are all part of her own learning experience. "They are teaching me just as much as I am teaching them."