Having become an official student organization during spring 2018, The Talk is one of the newest student organizations on campus. The club dedicated to mentoring young girls in the Hattiesburg community through lectures and spending quality time with the children.
Sophomore elementary education major and Co-Vice President Teraviah Jackson said the organization began with a group of five friends who wanted to make a difference in their community. They began volunteering at Aldersgate Mission, a United Way Education Partner focused on scholarship and fostering social development.
“While volunteering there we started to notice a couple of girls were getting into arguments on the playground,” Jackson said. “That’s when we knew something had to be done. We became mentors at Aldersgate, and then we decided that maybe we could expand more and create an organization on campus. We got all of our paperwork together, we did all of our interviews and through motivation, consistency and dedication we did it. With those three things, we founded The Talk.”
Jackson said the goal of The Talk is to be a listening place where everyone, especially underprivileged youth, can have their opinions and voices heard.
“When we realized how the generation is today, we realized how they needed guidance from people closer to their age and not from older people,” sophomore interior design major and Co-Vice President Tya Gibbs said.
The Talk is currently preparing for its Halloween themed fashion show, The Talk’s Spooky Fashion Show on Oct. 23 in Union B at 7 p.m. The models and designers will be Southern Miss students. The entry fee is $2 or two donated shirts. Proceeds of the show will be donated to girls who attend Aldersgate.
Sophomore elementary education major and President Chuna Lott said leading an organization like The Talk is exciting but challenging.
“I won’t say that it has been easy, but I also won’t say that it’s been tough, but it has been a struggle,” Lott said.
“I would agree that it was been a struggle, but because we were friends before we started this organization it made it easier for stuff to get done,” Gibbs said. People have their own part of the organization. People have their own personalities so for me that made this process easier.”
Although the members of The Talk are friends, they understand the line between friendship and business.
“I’ve learned that it is difficult to work with other people,” sophomore psychology major Brayla Lawson said. “Especially when you thought it would be easier because we are all friends. But when to come into a situation like this you have to understand that it’s a balance between the two and that there is a line.”
To find out more information about The Talk, search for The Talk USM on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
