Alumna Erin Weed found her calling because she attended Eastern, but not from the degree she received. The death of her friend Shannon McNamara is the reason Weed created Girls Fight Back, a self-defense program for girls and women of all ages.

Weed and McNamara met in the fall of 1999. Weed was the president of Alpha Phi sorority and McNamara rushed as a junior transfer student. Weed has a wealth of memories about McNamara, but especially remembers jogging with her.

“We were both athletes. We were jogging partners and always ran together,” Weed said.

In December 1999, Weed received her bachelor’s degree in speech communications. She moved to Hoboken, N.J., and began working immediately after graduation.

Weed was shocked when she heard of McNamara’s death in June 2001. McNamara was killed in her apartment, and the man arrested in connection is still awaiting trial.

Weed began self-defense training in August 2001 as a response to McNamara’s death. She attended the American Women’s Self Defense Conference, which is held once a year.

Weed earned a teacher’s certificate in self defense and began a traveling women’s self defense program, Girls Fight Back, in October 2001.

“I’m the only constantly mobile women’s self defense instructor,” Weed said.

Girls Fight Back is run solely by Weed. The program is for people who believe in the practical applications of street fighting. She teaches the three lines of defense-prevention, intuition and the fight.

The

prevention step involves ways to avoid crimes. The intuition line of self defense is unfortunately neglected, Weed said.

“This part gives women permission to trust their gut feelings. The root of this is self-confidence,” Weed said.

If these lines of self defense fail in a confrontation, then a woman needs to know how to fight.

“I teach practical, easy ways to fight. This helps women get out of difficult situations,” Weed said.

Weed has taught both an 8-year-old girl and an 88-year-old woman. Women over the age of 40 begin the program with doubts, Weed said.

“They grew up thinking it (self defense) wasn’t the right thing to do,” Weed said.

If older women are having a difficult time with it, Weed asks them to visualize someone going after their children.

“If they won’t defend themselves, they’ll defend their children,” Weed said. The program is a way for them to reclaim personal security, Weed said.

Weed travels all over the nation with Girls Fight Back. She has been to universities, Mommy and Me programs and churches.

“If anyone can get a group together and call me, I’ll be there,” Weed said.

Weed is still coping with

McNamara’s death. Girls Fight Back is her way to deal with the loss of her friend.

“‘Girls Fight Back is my grieving,” Weed said.

People from Eastern and around the nation have been touched by Weed and Girls Fight Back. Most are women who have seen her program, and others remember her as an undergraduate.

Bob Dudolski, Eastern’s director of greek life, remembers Weed as a strong student leader because of the key positions she held in the greek community and elsewhere on campus.

“When she graduated, I knew she’d be successful,” Dudolski said.

Dudolski helped Weed kick off Girls Fight Back in October 2001 when she gave a speech for a program he hosted.

Becky Leman, a senior history and social science major, met Weed three years ago through McNamara. Leman feels Girls Fight Back is a good idea.

“(Weed) is doing a lot for women everywhere,” Leman said.

Leman has attended one of the programs and said the speech at the beginning gets everyone involved. The techniques Weed uses are beneficial to women, Leman said.

Cindy McNamara, Shannon McNamara’s mother, has known Weed for a year and a half. Weed is an amazing person, she said.

“Shannon hired her for the job,” Cindy McNamara said.

When Cindy McNamara first saw the Girls Fight Back program, she was surprised.

“I had pictured it differently. I thought it was karate or tae kwon do. Instead, it was basically more informational than physical, it was all logic that we (women) never think of,” Cindy McNamara said.

Girls Fight Back is a wonderful tribute to my daughter, Cindy McNamara said.

The future looks bright for Weed and the Girls Fight Back program. Weed was named “Cosmo Girl of the Year” for her program and has been the subject of articles in other publications.

Weed is currently asking women’s magazines for monthly columns about women using self defense. She also is working on a book about her experiences with Girls Fight Back.

“It’s called ‘Journey of a Girl Fighter’ and it should be in print by this time next year,” Weed said.

For more information about Girls Fight Back, visit www.girlsfightback.comor call the hotline at 201-951-9496.