Youth Contributor

A Youth Leader: Abigail Caputo

I met high school senior Abby Caputo this year through Giovanna Niccolai who was interning with Shape The Sky. Giovanna introduced us and explained that Abby had a project she was interested in doing. We chatted a little and Abby formulated a plan to create a new club at the high school. Read below to learn more about Abby and her Big Sister club she started.  ~Ryan

Montour’s Big Sisters Club Mentors DEW Middle School Students

A new club at the high school is helping middle school girls learn how to become leaders and role models. Abigail Caputo founded the Big Sisters Club at the high school, with the goal of mentoring the 7th and 8th graders around social issues that arise during middle school. She and twelve other high school girls came together and planned four presentations for the middle school students. The goal of the club is to help middle school girls with middle school struggles. Abigail introduced the program to the middle school girls as an opportunity for them to realize that others have had social struggles in middle school and that there are ways to prevent, cope and get help for these issues. 

The Big Sisters Club met, and identified four topics to discuss based upon experiences they had during middle school.  During February, March, and April,  the Big Sisters Club presented to the 7th and 8th grade girls. Abigail oversaw all four groups and helped implement the presentations. 

The first group was composed of Sarah Trosky, Hailey Palas, Olivia Gieske and Olivia Persinger. Their topic was Dealing With Negativity and their focus was to learn that friendships and relationships come and go, the importance of knowing how to defend themselves, and take themselves out of uncomfortable situations. They discussed confiding in adults, standing up to bullies, and walking away from certain situations. Their presentation ended with an interactive Kahoot game that identified bullying myths and other situations that showed the girls that they are not alone.

The second group with Giovanna Niccolai, Abigail Caputo, and Abigail Rose presented on Social Media. In this presentation, they explained the responsible use of social media. Key components were learning how to recognize unsafe and unwise behaviors commonly shared on social media and to connect with an adult if they need help with any situations found on social media. 

Natalie Dixon, Kelsey Molitoris, Marisa Captiline, Abigail Caputo, and Ashley Kocyan led the third presentation, Being a Better Version of Yourself. Their message was that having a positive mindset can help create healthy social situations and promote positive self-esteem.

Finally, Taryn Ferraccio, Isabella Niccolai and Abigail Caputo spoke to the girls about Cyberbullying. They presented on the difference between in-person bullying and cyberbullying, what signs to look for, how to respond and when to ask for help from a trusted adult. 

Middle school counselor Danielle Langdon and Educational Mentor Ryan Klingensmith helped with content messaging, resources and logistics.Bio: Hi my name is Abby Caputo and I just recently graduated from Montour high school. I was the creator of the Big Sisters club to help younger girls become young women. I also was president of Tri-m Music Honor Society. I was secretary of Student Council along with on executive board of Future Business Leaders of America. These clubs have taught me leadership skills and how to communicate with others in a group and one on one. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity of working with Mr. Klingensmith this year to help me create the Big Sisters club which impacted many middle school girls. I am very excited to continue my journey at University of Dayton this fall to pursue a career in biology.