The girls in the eighth-grade class have been studying the course all year and were proud to receive their certificates of completion. Each girl came forward for her certificate while “Pomp and Circumstance” played in the background, and everyone received a big hug and a “God bless you!” from study co-author Susan Brinkmann.

Afterward, we all enjoyed pizza, ice cream and games.

At the end of a very fun hour, it was time for us all to say goodbye.

Looking back over the school year, Facilitator Suze Middleton says the program helped in a way unbeknown to her when she first started the class.

“It actually helped the girls create relationships with each other, true friendships. It really brought them together and gelled them in a beautiful way. I just want to say thank you for this other grace that came through the program – which is how the girls found a deeper relationship not only with Our Lord and Our Lady, but also with each other. And that’s a beautiful thing because they can encourage each other, they’re there for each other. And they’re really going to miss each other as they go to high school, but it was a beautiful time and a beautiful thing that happened here.”

Maya agreed. “I think the program brought us all closer together.”

Ena said she “loved the whole experience!”

Maria thought that, overall, “the book helped me to understand how Catholic women fit into society and the role they play in the world.”

Maggie was also impressed by this new understanding of the role of women. “It showed me how the culture portrays women with makeup, but this book told me God gives us true beauty and grace given by God – a grace we can use for the greater glory of God.”

Learning how to be a spiritual mother was also important to her, and she loved the saint stories.

“The book taught us to resist peer pressure,” Anna said. “The only person we need to impress is God.”

Regina Academy headmaster Michael J. Patterson was also delighted with the course.

“Young Women of Grace is much needed in today’s society. The weekly classes have born fruit in our young woman, and this is evident in the respect that they have for each other and themselves.”

You can give a young girl the same positive experience by bringing Young Women of Grace to your parish, school, or community! Click here for more information.