At Pomona College’s Draper Center for Community Partnerships, you will find Sista-2-Sista, a student-run, volunteer-based program that supports young Black women in high school. Through group-led discussions, workshops and mentorship, Sista-2-Sista works to build safe spaces for the high schoolers with which they partner.
Last semester, the Draper Center celebrated 15 years since its founding. Established in 2009, the center originally focused on outreach to low-income neighborhoods outside the Claremont Colleges and has since expanded to oversee 15 programs. Sista-2-Sista has been an active part of the center since 2016, according to Kristin Walters, a post-baccalaureate fellow for educational outreach who helps oversee Sista-2-Sista and other Draper Center programming.
Sista-2-Sista partners with local high schoolers with the goal “to heighten students’ understanding of what it means to be a Black woman in American society,” according to their mission statement.
Oluwasemilore Osunkeye PO ’28, Nadiya Muhammad PO ’25, Edidya Solomon PO ’26 and Werlie Cius PO ’26 are the program’s coordinators this year. While the latter two are studying abroad this semester, Osunkeye and Muhammad oversee recruitment events on campus, host office hours at the Draper Center and plan discussions and workshops for upcoming high school visits.
Every Thursday, Sista-2-Sista visits Colony High School in Ontario to host a space that brings together the Black community and have conversations that center Black voices.
According to a U.S. News and World Report, Colony High School has a total minority enrollment of 93 percent, including 10.5 percent Black students.
“Something I got inspired by from being a Posse Scholar is teaching these girls about de-escalation,” Muhammad said. “I want to teach these girls about different ways to handle conflict and how to make spaces more comfortable for everybody.”
In high school, Osunkeye was part of an organization similar to Sista-2-Sista that focused on mentoring girls and joined Sista-2-Sista to continue her involvement throughout college.
“We’re privileged to go to schools like the 5Cs,” Osunkeye said. “We want to be role models for these high school girls and give them advice on future career paths or life.”
Last semester, Sista-2-Sista hosted workshops on hair braiding and bracelet making, as well as a “How to Get Ready for College” day on campus. Students had the opportunity to participate in workshops, ask professors questions and listen to a talk from Dr. Adrienne Hilliard, a counselor at Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services.
“We’re privileged to go to schools like the 5Cs,” Osunkeye said. “We want to be role models for these high school girls and give them advice on future career paths or life.”
“We also want to hold space for talking about current events,” Muhammad said. “A lot of the time, we’re expected to go about with underlying stress, and this space is meant for students to decompress themselves.”
While Sista-2-Sista currently only visits Colony High School, they are hoping to expand to other high schools in the area and continue on and off-campus programming.
Some events they hope to do this semester are field trips to the California African American Museum (CAAM), a tour of the Pomona campus, study sessions and a partnership with a predominantly young Black Girl Scout troop in Pomona.
Sista-2-Sista is currently in the recruitment process, and Osunkeye encourages students to volunteer with the program.
“Meeting these girls is so fun; they are so smart and so open to having these conversations, so I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy this opportunity,” she said.