NCNW Cotillion celebrates young women's achievements

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — The fourth annual Vision of Beauty Cotillion graced the 8820 Event Center Saturday evening, the culmination of months of hard work by 11 young women from throughout Lorain County. The debutante ball hosted by the Lorain County Section of the National Council of Negro Women teaches the local high school seniors life skills outside of what they learn in a classroom, Chairwoman Tamara Jones said, with workshops focusing on mental health, healthy relationships, financial literacy, personal branding and communication alongside various community service projects. But the highlight is the final dance. After eight weeks of formal ballroom dance lessons, the 11 girls dance for family, friends and community members. Instead of escorts this year, the girls danced with their fathers and father figures, and participated in a mother-daughter dance, Jones said. "Seeing them develop over the weeks is so beautiful. … Even last night we were here for our final rehearsal and just seeing them from the first week to where they are now, it's a beautiful thing," she said. For Elyria residents Mary Betterson and Sierra Mobley, both 18, the cotillion has been a chance to be around other young, gifted Black women, while learning skills needed to move forward into college and beyond. Mobley is getting ready to graduate this year from Elyria High School's Early College program and plans to attend Cleveland State University to study nursing. She said she had a great-cousin who was a Jack and Jill debutante years before, and it was something her mother always wanted to do but it wasn't available during her senior year of high school — so she pushed for her daughter to do it. While not initially Mobley's idea, she said it's been a big milestone in her life, and has taught her about healthy relationships and the importance of taking care of one's own mental health before putting others first. "Being a Black girl, it's really good to be with your other, fellow Black women where you're all doing something together empowering each other where it's something positive," she said. "You don't really get a lot of that now at times, but it's really fun. … None of us really knew each other but during these eight and nine months we formed this certain type of friendship with each other where we became really close." For Betterson, who is home schooled and hopes to attend Howard University to study sociology pre-law, NCNW's cotillion was something she knew she wanted to participate in when her family moved to Elyria three years ago. The workshops gave her a chance to learn leadership skills, and give volunteer opportunities to "pour" back into the community, she said, and build lasting memories with new friends. "(My biggest takeaway) has just been the feeling of being a part of this — I always wanted to be a debutante. I'm a history nerd, so learning the history of it, being a part of it with all these awesome, amazing, young, gifted and Black kids it was so amazing to be around them." NCNW raises funds and receives community donations throughout the year to make sure the cotillion and ball are not a burden to any of the girls' families, including supplying the iconic white dresses for each young woman, Jones said. Each of the 11 girls also is crowned, celebrating their accomplishments as debutantes rather than singling any out. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.