WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) - West Virginia Girls Rise Up is a program started by Senator Shelley Moore Capito that aims to inspire young women and show them that they can do anything they set their minds to.
"Being the first woman [Senator], I thought I'd like to inspire that next generation of women leaders, so we talk to them about education, physical education, and self-confidence, I think the three pillars of success, and to not be afraid to try," said Senator Capito.
Senator Capito brought the program to Madison Elementary on Tuesday, accompanied by NASA astronaut and first woman to command the International Space Station Peggy Whitson.
Whitson shared stories about her record amount of time in space and talked about what inspired her to become an astronaut: seeing the first females selected as NASA astronauts around the time she graduated high school.
"I think it's great that there are ladies out there who can push and achieve something that's never been done before by a woman, but for me I know it was inspirational to see that someone else could do it. It made it seem much more achievable," said Whitson.
Capito and Whitson are living examples that women can achieve their goals, no matter how big.
They taught the girls that with hard word, education, physical fitness, and confidence, anything is achievable, and they left a big impression.
"Every girl in West Virginia should dream big," said fourth grade student Mariah.
"Girls should not be shy, and if you have a goal and people are making fun of you, prove them wrong," added fourth grade student Ariel.
At the end of the presentation, the girls wrote down something they would do to work toward their goals, like eat more vegetables or speak confidently in front of the class.
They were then invited to share with the group.