My Black is Beautiful Ambassador Talks Empowering Teen Girls to Recognize their Self-Worth

Long before she was selected to be a My Black is Beautiful national brand ambassador, Feyi Odukoya was making strides to positively impact teen girls in her community.

After coming into contact with an 8-year-old young lady who opened up about her self-esteem struggles, Odukoya knew it was time she followed her passion of mentoring the younger generation. She quit her job as an auditor for a public accounting firm and launched the nonprofit Project Beautify You, Inc in 2013, with the mission to help build up the self-confidence in young women between the ages of 12-18.

“What we do through a curriculum based program is work with the girls and talk to them about everything from college and career readiness, to health and wellness, financial fitness and personal and self-development,” Odukoya told BlackEnterprise.com.

This year, Project Beautify You entered a partnership with the DC Public School System where they will go into select schools weekly to mentor and empower young girls. In addition to uplifting the self-esteem of the teens, Odukoya and her team also bring in mentors from professional backgrounds, such as IT and entrepreneurship, to speak to the young women about succeeding in the workforce.

As a Morgan State University alum who attended college for free, Odukoya and Project Beautify You also work to ensure that the young scholars are aware of the many financial options that will help get them to and through college.

“During the college and career readiness [sessions], we usually have somebody come and talk to them about FAFSA and the importance of getting ready to apply to college and scholarships,” said the Maryland native, while revealing that a former Project Beautify You participant recently won a full scholarship to Howard University.

To learn more about Odukoya’s nonprofit and how you can get involved, visit their website at pbyinc.org.