Full Circle News

With a 2023 AAWGT grant, TCP Charity launched an all-girls program in partnership with Excellence Esthetics at Brooklyn Park Middle and Brooklyn Park Elementary schools. This hands-on experiential program teaches girls different jobs related to esthetics in the health and wellness industry. Specifically, girls are taught to do nails, hair, and facials, and how to make business logos, candles, and scented oils to create a Spa Day event. The program ends with the girls running their Spa Day event for local women and girls in their schools. This year their Spa Day took place on May 17th at Brooklyn Park Elementary.

Adding this program has opened up new possibilities for TCP Charity. It is tackling a major need in schools – girls’ specific programs that educate them on the workforce and health and wellness by outside providers. Due to the success of this program and with such a high need, we are offering a two-week summer camp in 2024 for all girls. The addition of these programs will increase the number of kids served per year by at least 50 and will spark new interests in the hearts and minds of young girls as they transition into middle and high school. We hope that it leads to girls attending the Center of Applied Technology in high school to continue their education in esthetics, ultimately leading them to a job or starting a business.

“As one of the participants noted - “The esthetics program with Ms. Kandice is so cool. Being in this program has helped increase my confidence, make new friends, and makes me want to come to school. I can’t wait to do it again next year!”

“There also is an important benefit to some camaraderie in a world where it can sometimes be hard to get to know women outside of work. I am meeting and making friends with people whose paths I might not have crossed otherwise. AAWGT women I’ve gotten to know so far don’t want to live in a bubble. They want to make contact with people who are different and want to help make others’ lives better. I’ve particularly enjoyed being a part of the Racial Equity Study Group and deeply appreciate its efforts to support diversity, equity, and inclusion. The leaders and members of the committee are to be commended. It has been touching to see so many people trying to understand and support the experiences of people of color.”

Jacqueline is CEO of MyCollegeAdvisor.Net, LLC, an educational consulting company that assists students in college admissions, standardized test preparation, summer placement, subject area tutoring and extended learning. A graduate of Harvard University with an B.A. in English and American Literature and an M.B.A., she studied government at the John F. Kennedy School, journalism at the Nieman Foundation, and served as the executive director of the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise at the University of Maryland. Her resume includes advising the George Washington University School of Education on how to redesign its College of Continuing Studies, and serving as assistant director of the National Air and Space Museum, directing K-higher education, including college and graduate internships, and chairing Strategic Planning for the entire institution, crafting its policy on public education.

Jacqueline’s direct teaching experience includes teaching journalism, history, and government at St. Albans, National Cathedral School, and Georgetown Day School. Her teaching awards include being a Memphis City Public School System’s Hall of Fame inductee, the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Special Recognition Journalism Adviser of the year, a teaching fellowship in China from the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, scholar-in-residence in African American history at George Mason University, and outstanding museum educator of the year from the National University and Continuing Education Association. She also was a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for one year, supporting an abused and neglected child involved in juvenile court proceedings. CASA has won numerous grants from AAWGT.

“For fun, I enjoy gardening, fine and performing arts, walking, theater, and music of all kinds, particularly classical. As a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church, one of the oldest African American congregations in the country, I serve as a lector, a Eucharistic Minister in general and specifically to the sick and shut-in, and am on the Welcoming Committee. I am an adoption trainer for Lucky Dogs in VA, and the Captain of my Neighborhood Watch. In short, I am like all the dynamic women in AAWGT — here, there, and everywhere, totally overcommitted, hoping to make a difference.”