At the center of every Empowerteen retreat, you’ll find a mentor who’s volunteering their time and energy to help the participants. “What it means to be a mentor is being a role model,” shares Grace Darazs, once an Empowerteen mentor and now an intern. “For the participants, I think without the mentors they would never talk to each other.” While she says this partly joking, she admits that communication is the very sole of the retreat, and it’s up to the mentors to make sure that happens.
“I’ve known Dr. Paula for quite a long time,” Darazs recalls, drawing back her involvement with Empowerteen and her relationship with Dr. Paula Pilcher to 2016. “I started as a participant in the middle school retreat for girls, and then I started volunteering from there.” Darazs stepped into the mentorship role and eventually took on the event coordinator internship two years ago. Currently, she’s moved into the social media marketing internship. After spending almost ten years with the organization, she admits that the community and relationships she’s found in Empowerteen encourage her to continue coming back each year. “I think it was such a safe community for me,” Darazs reflects. “What always made me come back was honestly Dr. Paula and then the community.”
Through her love for the organization, Darazs knew she wanted to continue being a helpful resource, which is one thing that motivated her to become a mentor. “The mentors and I see the participants, like a little bit of ourselves in them, and I think that’s why it’s so easy to continue mentoring because it’s just so fulfilling,” she expresses. Darazs explains that her mother initially pushed her to attend one of the summer retreats as a way to help her make more friends. Growing up, Darazs was fairly shy and struggled to move outside of her bubble, but even for kids who have no trouble engaging in social situations, Empowerteen is still valuable. “It makes you so well-rounded,” she comments, hinting at the true value in the organization. “It introduces you to so many different kinds of people and it makes you a little bit more empathetic and it just develops every single social skill you could possible need.”
The summer retreats offered through Empowerteen are a great place to start on a journey of self-growth and exploration. Darazs, having experience as both a participant and mentor, shares a sneak peek into what the retreats offer. “Expect to leave with a bunch of friends,” she starts out. “Expect to have a better idea of your interests because you are going to learn a lot, like you’re going to learn how to cook and how to do your finances, and that might spark an interest.” She also recommends learning what other events and opportunities Empowerteen offers. “Every single person, especially the guys at the beginning, are like ‘my mom made me come and I’m not coming back,’” Darazs says with a knowing laugh. “But they always do.”
“It really helped me see my self-worth– it helped me learn how to take care of myself,” Darazs candidly explains, reflecting on how her involvement with Empowerteen has impacted her. “It’s like a friend group where no matter how long you go without seeing each other, it’s like you never left and I think those are really special.” Regardless of your role in the organization, Darazs makes it clear that friendship and community are never lacking. She explains that those relationships she built and the confidence she established have propelled her forward in life and will continue to be a huge support system in her life.
WRITTEN BY: Grace Bland, Empowerteen Journalism Intern
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NOTE FROM DR. PAULA: “Thank you for sharing your insights, Grace Darazs! Being able to witness your growth throughout many participations in Middle School and High School events over the years, into volunteering and mentoring, teaching a lesson and leading an activity at the High School Retreat in 2024, and now in your second college internship, has been such a blessing for me. You’ve touched and changed many lives over the past 10 years and we are so lucky you continue to be a big part of Empowerteen!”