New York, NY — For the seventh straight year, the At the Well Young Women’s Leadership Academy (ATW) will offer its two week summer enrichment program for minority girls entering the eleventh or twelfth grades of high school. Each year, ATW improves the leadership skills of students from across the country on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, NJ.

In 2016, ATW expanded to include a mini three-day session for 9th grade students at Princeton, and a full two week program at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. ATW is scheduled for July 23–August 4, 2017 with the 9th Grade Weekend Intensive held August 4-6, 2017 on the Princeton campus. The Swarthmore College program will be offered July 9-21, 2017.

ATW is one of the only summer enrichment programs for minority girls to be held on an Ivy League campus. ATW builds leadership skills through leadership development projects, interactive group sessions, critical reading and writing courses, field trips, and a financial aid/scholarship boot camp. Dynamic speakers from the corporate, non-profit, entrepreneurial, medical, legal, and entertainment fields offer workshops. The three-day 9th Grade Weekend Intensive increases the awareness of essential leadership tools and offers a glimpse of the full program. Special guest facilitators to the ATW program have included actor Brian White, motivational speakers Brandi and Karli Harvey, actress Jasmine Guy, activist Michaela Angela Davis, QVC Inventor Lisa Ascolese, marketing guru Terri Woods, and actors Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe.

ATW offers programming that is relevant to students’ experiences and addresses challenging issues that are commonly faced in their communities. Discussions have included micro-aggressions, bullying, sexism, classism, and various forms of discrimination. The Academy prides itself on offering a safe space for students to share their experiences in a nurturing and healing atmosphere without judgement. An upcoming focus will include where students see the role of youth and young adults in the ever-changing U.S. and global environment.

The Academy provides on-campus housing at Princeton University and Swarthmore College. Admission is competitive and teens must possess a 3.0 G.P.A, and submit an essay and recommendation. Limited need-based partial scholarships are available. The application deadline for all three programs is March 31, 2017.

ATW is the brainchild of the CEO and Founder Jacqueline B. Glass. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, she created the program to offer minority girls the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and see themselves in successful women of color. According to Glass, “Minority girls need support and encouragemen from their peers who have the same level of ambition. In too many instances, we see these teens isolated, along with their talents, in high achieving academic settings where too few of their peers look like them. ATW is a safe place where students can discover and sharpen skills while being supported for their unique abilities.”

At the Well Young Women’s Leadership Academy is a program of At the Well Conferences, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization empowering women and teens since 2009. For more information and to apply for the programs online, go to www.atthewellconferences.org.