For the past 15 years, the Diamond Girls after-school mentoring program has been strutting down the runway with its annual fashion show. Each year, the Diamond Girls create their own fashions for the show in a display of girl-powered creativity and confidence.
Diamond Girls was founded in 2010 by Govans Elementary School paraeducator Mea Sydnor-Murphy and former Baltimore City Schools principal Peggy Jackson at Belmont Elementary School. When Ms. Sydnor-Murphy joined Govans in 2013, she brought the program to Govan’s Dragons After Dismissal program. This year, Diamond Girls serves about 45 girls in grades 1-5 at Govans. “The program’s goal is to give girls the tools to shine at life,” says Ms. Sydnor-Murphy.
Shine they did on March 22, 2025, when ten Diamond Girls were invited to present a special fashion show at the National Council of Negro Women luncheon – Spirit of a Woman Biennial Celebration in Baltimore. Dressed in the clothing/uniform representing their career choice and accompanied by a female mentor in that career, the Govans students were the hit of the luncheon.
“Last year, the Council president, Awayna Brodie attended the spring 2024 Diamond Girls Fashion Show, which had a career-themed scene,” Ms. Sydnor-Murphy explains. Impressed, Ms. Brodie invited students to present their dream jobs in a fashion show.
Called the “EmpowerHER Walk,” the fashion show paired professional women walking with Diamond Girls at the luncheon, modeling the fashion of their occupation and offering real-life aspirational goals, including:
- Lady T, social media influencer and TV Host B’More Lifestyle on Fox 45
- Maysa Leak, national recording artist
- Alisa Gumbs, VP/Deputy Chief Content Officer/Reporter, Black Enterprise Magazine
- Fire Lt. Twana Allen, Baltimore County Fire Department, the first Black woman to serve as Fire Lt. of the BCFD
The students who modeled their dream careers included:
- Teacher: Abigail, 4th grade
- Media Influencer: London, 4th grade
- CEO: Casey, 5th grade
- Hairdresser: Braelyon, 2nd grade
- Makeup Artist: Dallas, 5th grade
- Police Officer: Gia, 2nd grade
- Entrepreneur: Zya, 5th grade
- TV Reporter: Abraeya, 5th grade
- Travel Agent: Camille, 5th grade
- Fire Fighter: Hayden, 4th grade
All the Diamond Girls are busy preparing for the annual fashion show, held at Govans on May 30, 2025, at 6 p.m. The girls chose the theme, “They’re Not Like Us,” and as a nod to Diamond Girls’ 15th anniversary, alumnae of the program (the “past”) and selected girls in Govans’ PreK and Kindergarten (the “future”) will strut the runway, too.
For the “Denim and Pearls” part of the show, each girl is embellishing her own denim piece of clothing in the afterschool program.
“The fashion show teaches the girls confidence and awareness of who they are,” reflects Ms. Sydnor-Murphy. “Some of our students are shy, but when you put on the music and dim the lights, they bring it on the stage. It teaches showmanship. It’s wonderful to see them so proud of what they have accomplished.”
Enjoy the photo gallery of the recent Diamond Girls career fashion show at the National Council of Negro Women luncheon.
Enjoy the fashion show!
