People Behind BIO | Becca Michael

Becca Michael

Site director and parent, fergus falls, mn

Meet BIO Girls Site Director, Becca Michael! Becca has been a Site Director at our BIO Girls - Fergus Falls, MN site for two years and has two girls of her own in the program! 

Fun fact: Fergus Falls was the very first BIO Girls site to expand beyond the Fargo, ND community! Now it's a community that has so much love and support for BIO Girls! Thank you to Becca and everyone from Fergus Falls who has been supporting BIO Girls for seven years! 

Read more about Becca below!

What is your connection to BIO Girls? 

I am the Site Director for BIO Girls in Fergus Falls!

How long have you been involved with BIO Girls?

My daughters have been participating for four years, and I became the Site Director two years ago. 

What drew you to become involved with BIO Girls?

I grew up in Fergus Falls but it wasn’t until I moved back to this area that my sister told me to get my daughters involved in BIO Girls. My daughters are 11 and 9, so we got them signed up right away. I then became the site director here two years ago.

What was it like to become a Site Director at an existing site? 

Jill Nelson (the previous site director) had everything set up so well. There was great participation, funding, and support. She made it simple for me to just pick it up where she left off, expand things a little, and keep the great things there too. Our community in Fergus Falls knows what BIO Girls is, so people were ready to support us. BIO Girls has been here for seven years, so we have had girls participate for as long as they can and then become Junior Mentors, we have little sisters of past participants come through, and other friends and family members. 

The BIO Girls mission is "to improve the self-esteem of adolescent girls through empowerment of self and service to others." How do you resonate with the mission?

I think it can be hard to trust yourself, find your passion, and listen for God's voice. Being a BIO Girls Site Director is one way that I can help show girls how to be confident in themselves and be there for those in need.

Do you have an impact story from your involvement with BIO Girls?

Its hard to settle on one exact moment. For the last few years, I've been sitting at the finish line of our 5K, helping the girls after they come across. It is all I can do to not just stand there and cry tears of joy. The girls that come across are smiling, happy, proud that they could do it. At the beginning of our program, there are a lot of girls that don’t think they can run a 5K, so we just keep telling them that they can do it! It is overwhelming how excited those girls can be. I also get comments from parents afterward saying, "my daughter is still talking about how she ran that race, and she’s so proud she did it!" 

What do you do for work?

I am the Communications Supervisor for Ottertail Power Company! 

Did you have a favorite lesson that you found value in?

I enjoy the friendship lessons! We talk about how to be a good friend, and how to recognize if your friendship isn't what you want or had hoped. I think sometimes we get in the habit of thinking we have to connect with everyone. One conversation I've had with my girls is "You don’t have to be friends with everybody. I am still kind, thoughtful, and considerate to everyone, but that doesn’t mean I’m friends with everyone." I think it helps kids recognize their possible introverted-ness. My girls are more introverted, so helping them recognize that it is totally fine and that some of their friends will be very extroverted. The whole conversation about who your friends are, how you get along, and what to do if there are struggles in that friendship. Both kids and adults need those lessons. 

What changes have you seen in the girls you have mentored?

I've seen girls become much more confident in their decisions and meeting the goals they set their minds to, as well as changes in how they talk to themselves (more positive self-talk!). 

In one sentence, how do you summarize what BIO Girls provides participants?

BIO Girls provide participants with an increase in their self-esteem and a network of mentors and other BIO girls that can be thinking about them

Mentoring is a big commitment.  Why is it worth it to you?

It's hard to be a kid, trying to balance expectations and interests. I think anytime kiddos can have a safe, fun place to form relationships with others and adults that care about them it's a huge advantage. I've seen positive changes in my daughters because of their relationships with their mentors and the excitement of a goal accomplished when they run across the finish line. 

My daughters have a strong relationship with their aunts, and I'm grateful for what they get out of that. I recognize though that not everyone has that type of family, I hope that what BIO Girls helps provide is another strong female adult that can be there for them and pray for them, and be a connection for them. They might not have a relationship like this outside of their teachers or people from church. It’s just one more person that’s looking out for them and can help them.

What is one thing that surprised you about BIO Girls?

How fulfilling it would be for me. I was surprised by how much I get out of it. Beforehand I thought I would just be organizing and running things, but the friendships I’ve gained from BIO Girls  and the connections I have made are amazing 

What changes did you see in your daughter?

During the program, they fight a little bit less because we can say "are you acting like a BIO Girl right now?” They both love to go to BIO Girls. They get to connect with girls that might not be in their class or grade. They also get to connect with other adults, they get to be with friends, and they get to hear more about how much God loves them. Its a reinforcement about what a big deal and how special they are. 

Why should other parents consider enrolling their daughter in BIO Girls?

I would strongly encourage parents to not think about it as a running program. My oldest would not consider herself an athlete, she's very much an artist. When we were first started talking about BIO Girls she thought about it as a running club, which it is not. We care more about participants setting goals and completing the 5K in a way that’s appropriate for them. I try to tell people that even though we run, we are much more than that. Yes, they run but its a body image, self-esteem, and faith-building club that happens to run. The activity is the side note, the bigger thing is the mentorship, the community, ad the conversations that we get to have.

What is the last book you read?  Would you recommend it?

Such a Fun Age by Kylie Reid. 

Do you have any hidden talents?

I have a small flock of chickens that I'm obsessed with. I know all the words Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

If you could have lunch with one person, who would it be?

Laura Ingalls Wilder, to talk about what a day in her life would be!

Do you have any hidden talents?

I'm very handy and I LOVE to mess around with tools so I recently fixed up an old bike from the farm. 

Thank you, Becca, for being an advocate for BIO Girls.

Learn more about how you can get involved!