Thank you to the Professional MBA program at the University of Illinois for sponsoring today’s Chambana Mom to Know. The Professional MBA is a MBA program that meets two nights a week (Mondays and Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m.) in Champaign. Applications are being taken now. Attend an information session on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Business Instructional Facility, 515 E. Gregory Dr., Champaign. Please RSVP at 217-244-7602 or email professionalMBA@illinois.edu.
Mary Konken’s Champaign-Urbana story might sound eerily familiar to some of you: she moved here, left, and moved back. The Indianapolis native and Purdue graduate (who has degrees in psychology and criminal justice) worked as a case manager for mentally ill adults until she became a stay-at-home mom. In 2014, Konken brought Girls on the Run, a national movement that provides pre-adolescent girls with the necessary tools to embrace their individual strengths and successfully navigate life experiences program, to Champaign County. She continues to serve as GOTR’s Council Director. Mary and her husband, Eric, live in Savoy with their three children, Connor (7), Maggie (5), and Kate (3).
See why we think Mary Konken is a Chambana Mom to Know.
Q: You launched GOTR in C-U just a year ago, and have achieved so much since. How have you digested everything?
I had high hopes for the program and so happy that it has been so successful in this community. I knew a program like this would succeed in this community if executed properly. We have a group of amazing volunteers that have helped this program be successful.
Being partnered with the Stephens Family YMCA helped get the word out about our program. We wouldn’t be as successful as we are without their support. Also, our community sees the need to to build healthy and confident girls. Unlike boys, most girls need to be taught to be confident or that the confidence they inherently have is a positive attribute. Girls on the Run of Champaign County has impacted over 180 girls to have the tools they need to create positive relationships with others because they now have a positive image of themselves.
This year I would like us to serve over 300 girls and to get in to more Unit 4 and Unit 116 schools, especially the lower income schools. For the future I would like to see us in every school in Champaign County.
Right now registration is open for our fall season. Parents can register their third- to fifth-grade daughters on our website. As for parents and other adults, there are multiple opportunities to volunteer. We are always looking for volunteer coaches, volunteers for the 5k and running buddies who run the 5k with the girls. If you would like to see Girls on the Run at your school, please contact me directly!
Portillo’s and maybe a Costco. 🙂
Hosting a cookout with our friends, hanging out at the pool and maybe a kid-free night out with friends!
We usually like to head downtown and if it’s nice we love to eat outside.
I have two first names! My first name is Mary Elizabeth. When I got to first grade I told the teacher that my name was just Mary so ever since I go by Mary. My parents, aunts, uncles and cousins all call me Mary Elizabeth. I think my Irish Catholic parents had dreams of me being a nun!