Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem — so goes the refrain from a popular song by singer Lauren Hill.

The truth is there are lots of challenges in the life of a teenager — peer pressure, puberty, self esteem — which can potentially dull their sparkle.

But a three week empowering summer camp programme called Precious Gems, organised by Teen Services, was aiming to give girls age 11 to 14 the tools to shine within their classrooms and community.

The camp involved a number of fun outings to places such as Spittal Pond and Bermuda Fun Golf in Dockyard. The young people also took part in art therapy classes led by Richelle Richards and an interactive cooking demonstration hosted by Bermuda College Chef Teneika Eve.

They listened to lectures on topics such as how to take care of their skin, be successful in their chosen field, follow their dreams and start their own business.

Lakaila Tucker, 14, said hearing one presentation by young entrepreneur Ashley Stephens, from Ashley’s Lemonade Stand, really inspired her to make a change in her life.

“That was the best part of the three weeks for me because that’s when I realised I wanted to become a cosmetologist,” she said. “I like doing hair and nails and things like that.”

Lakaila said she originally didn’t want to take part in the camp, but her mom made her do it. She eventually began to see it was for the best.

“Last year my behaviour was bad. I got into a lot of trouble for being disrespectful,” Lakaila said.

“I think this camp has taught me to humble myself and not to be shy. Before if a person was to ask a question and I didn’t know the answer I wouldn’t raise my hand, but I have the confidence to do that now.

“This school year I want to be a better person. I’m not going to be disrespectful and I’m going to pay attention to my work more.”

Another young person who was positively impacted from the programme was 13-year-old Kirsten Maske.

Kirsten’s family recently moved to the Island after living in Bahrain. They signed her up for Precious Gems in a bid to help her make friends.

“I am really quite a shy person, but recently being with friends at camp I discovered I’m not as shy as I thought I was,” Kirsten said. “I can actually be quite talkative when I’m around people I trust so it boosted my confidence quite a lot.”

At a special graduation ceremony for the young girls recently, businesswoman Angela Young encouraged the participants to decide what they wanted their own personal brand to be.

“Knowing your self worth is crucial and it’s these values and characteristics that will anchor you during life’s journey and keep you grounded,” she said.

“Essentially our character is our moral compass, guiding us in making healthy decisions versus negative ones, helping us to identify positive role models vs negative ones, helping us to select other young ladies suitable to being our friends.

“Our characters help us to make healthy, positive decisions. Right now you are about to enter an exciting chapter in your lives.”

She urged the young girls to consider what message their dress and attitude was conveying to others about them. She urged them to make sure those impressions matched up with the woman they wanted to become or else change it so that it does.

Michelle Wade, the director of Teen Services, said the camp targeted young girls at an age when they were most likely to become at risk.

“We want them to leave with more confidence and self esteem and enhanced coping skills to deal with when things are difficult,” Ms Wade said. “That way they are able to deal with life’s challenges more healthily than to get involved with at risk behaviours.

“The beauty of this programme is we have everyone’s contact information and the social worker here also does prevention/outreach activities at schools like Cedarbridge, Berkeley, TN Tatem and Sandys Middle Schools, so we are able to keep in touch with them.”