She leads the organization, which is responsible for building character, healthy lifestyles and self-esteem in young girls with running as a central theme and activity goal.
Barry-Loken came to WMU because it was one of the few schools that had a concentration in public relations within communication. During her undergraduate years, she was an active participant in campus life, and served as a residence hall assistant all four years in the valley dorms. She also worked in University Relations.
“My experience at WMU was really positive and I have so many memories of my time being an RA,” she said. “I still stay in touch with a lot of the other students I worked alongside.”
After finishing her bachelor’s degree, Barry-Loken stayed at Western Michigan for graduate work in higher education. She participated in President Diether Haenicke’s presidential intern program, which led her to become the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Programs.
She moved over to work with Girls on the Run a little more than 10 years ago, and has been a large part of the program’s growth in the region.
“When I started I was a 20-hour a week employee and we had about 700 girls we were serving,” said Barry-Loken. “Now we have eight part time employees and there are nearly 2,400 girls in the program, which is about 44% of the population of third through eighth grade girls in the area.”
Kalamazoo’s chapter of Girls on the Run is the largest in Michigan and one of the biggest in the country. Although she’s not directly working at WMU, Barry-Loken said she works closely with her alma mater as a community partner.
“Each year we work with multiple WMU interns, and we have several college students who serve as volunteer coaches,” she said. “The girls love having Western students as their coaches. We also partner with WMU to host the start and finish of our season-ending 5k at Waldo Stadium.”
Barry-Loken said the greatest part of her job is seeing the transformation that takes place with everyone involved.
“It’s inspiring to see how volunteer coaches and young girls are both changed from the beginning to the end,” she said. “Girls on the Run is a lot more than a running program and it’s exciting to see how all who are involved are inspired to reach their full potential.”
To learn more about Girls on the Run or to sign up to be a volunteer coach for the spring 2014 program please visit the links below.