November 19, 2025 – Springfield, Massachusetts – The Hampden District Attorney’s Office hosted its third HERizon meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with the focus of the session being on confidence.

HERizon was created as a leadership and empowerment program for young women across Hampden County. The initiative aims to equip participants with tools, confidence, and community to navigate life’s challenges and opportunities with purpose.

The Nov. 4 meeting garnered 26 high school students from communities across the county.

Community Safety & Outreach Specialist Halie Matthew and Assistant District Attorney Liz Simonian led the session, by sharing insight and examples – both personal and general – on the importance of confidence.

One example, shared by Matthew, is body language. “Body language speaks louder than words,” Matthew said, including posture, tone, and eye contact, to name a few. She then asked all the attendees to stand up, how they normally would. Then, she asked them to stand with confidence. With their chests and chins up, and their hands down by their sides, the confidence in the room positively shifted, with a simple change. 

Communications Director Payton North also shared a story on how she gained confidence herself after reading “Year of Yes,” by Shonda Rhimes. She explained that while “yes” is not the answer to everything and setting boundaries around discomfort is important, so too is allowing yourself the opportunity to move beyond your comfort zone and pursue experiences you may have previously limited yourself from out of fear or self-doubt. 

Other key points that were mentioned throughout the meeting include the power of inner dialogue and self-talk, and decluttering the mind. At the end of the session, each student created an affirmation card with positive words and phrases that they were asked to take home and tape on their mirror, with the goal of getting comfortable receiving love and kindness from themselves.

The HERizon program is designed in three phases. The first and current phase is about looking within. The second phase is looking to close relationships, and the third phase is going outward – looking at goals, career, and so on.

The next HERizon meeting in December will feature a panel of five local women spanning across different sectors including healthcare, law enforcement, social work, entrepreneurship, and politics. The students will have the opportunity to ask questions to the panelists and gain insight into various topics.