YDA 2009 Culmination

When Thomas would come home in the afternoons from the Youth Development Academy, he wouldn’t stop talking. He’d be bursting with a story about his day or rushing to show his family a project he’d made.

Even his great aunt — whose eyesight wasn’t good enough to see other accomplishments — could partake. GEAR UP — ShareFest’s partner who ran the science portion of the Academy — used the theme “why things glow” this year, and those science projects of glowing liquids and blinking fiber optics were perfect for Thomas to show his great aunt, even with her bad vision.

The same projects would sit next to Thomas’ bed every night so he could lean over and work on them even as he went to sleep.

“I’m so glad he was able to come,” Thomas’ aunt Vickie Boone said. “He learned so much.”

Vickie sat next to her nephew at the end of  the YDA when parents and guardians got a glimpse of the four-week program during a finale luncheon.

Thomas (middle) didn't hesitate to say the pool was one of his favorite parts.

They saw slide shows and videos of what the students did that month. They heard the cheer that went up from the 150 youth when their counselors were introduced. And they got to take home science projects students built with luminescent wires.

It was the culmination of a four-week long haul that gave students a chance to learn and grow even after summer school had been canceled for almost all of them.

“[Thomas] was especially excited the first day,” Vickie said.

On that first day, Thomas went through a theater arts session with kids from across the South Bay and Harbor areas and learned to trust them while they acted out small scenes and had to rely on the arms and strength of other team members.

Thomas (right) and his team getting in each other's personal space.

Through the rest of the four weeks, Thomas and other students would act out skits, learn about community building through creative writing, look into their future by writing personal mission and vision statements, construct science projects with GEAR UP, romp around the soccer field and basketball court, take a tour of the L.A. Galaxy’s facilities and watch the soccer team practice, and hit Cal State University Dominguez’s pool diving board more than a few times.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

“I hope they have it next year. I really hope they have it next year,” Thomas and Vickie said.

Thomas and his aunt Vickie after the celebration, taking one of his projects home

The YDA ended today, but keep checking back in the coming week to hear exactly what the kids have to say. There’s much more the be told.

YDA Session Two, Day Eight

From counselor Daniel Nesbitt:

A-ha!

It was a moment that I imagined happening.  Today during YDA camp students had the opportunity again to hear from CSUDH recruiters about the importance of planning for the future.  It was wonderful to see so many students asking questions about possible education pursuits and career goals.  Questions ranged from: “Does it take 9 years of school to be a doctor? Can you get a minor without getting a major? How am I going to pay for this? Can you get a graduate degree before getting a bachelors degree?”

How often do we take for granted the information we have.  I wonder, even this evening, how many students would never have received answers to their questions were they not given this opportunity to ask in such a safe environment?

After a rousing time of basketball, most students moved back into the CSUDH swimming pool for the usual playtime and diving games.  Yet, a moment I had been waiting for during the past 2 weeks finally came to pass.  One student, Aaron, had been determined to pass the mandated swim test so that he could jump off the diving boards and into the deep end… 12 feet!  As part of the swim test, students must climb out of the pool WITHOUT using the ladder after swimming across the width of the pool.  Aaron had easily completed the swimming portion of the test, yet struggled to finish the test by pulling himself out of the pool without the aide of the ladder.  Until today…

After much determination throughout the past week, Aaron was able to pull himself onto the pool deck!  What followed was a rousing, roaring applause given by all campers, lifeguards, and counselors in attendance at the pool.  It was so encouraging to hear and see the support that Aaron had received from his peers and mentors because of his accomplishment.

It reminded me of the type of support that each of these students will need to stay motivated through life’s difficulties.  There will be many challenges ahead, no doubt, for each student.  How wonderful would it be if each student received praise and encouragement when they see success, big or small?  I am glad to be a part of Sharefest YDA to foster that hope, care, and determination in the students that I interact with on a daily basis.

YDA Session Two, Day Seven

Aisha Sterling is a PE teacher at Stephan White Middle School in Carson.

When she came to the Youth Development Academy, she got a surprise. A student who went to her middle school recognized her.

When she realized who it was, she remembered him immediately. She said he was something of a loner, an amazingly smart kid who often got overlooked because of a standoffish, withdrawn demeanor.

But when she ran into him at the YDA, she saw a side she missed at Stephan White.

“He said, ‘you get a hug,’ and he gave me a hug, and I hugged him back,” Sterling said. “It’s one of those priceless gifts you receive as a teacher. It took me by surprise.”

She said part of that must have come from the experience and environment ShareFest nurtures at Cal State Dominguez during the Academy.

“It is a different setting. In this setting, you really get to see the students be more vulnerable,” she said. “They’re allowed to be more vulnerable, but they’re not forced.”

YDA Session Two, Day Six

Anyone who has participated in ShareFest’s Annual Workday knows that youth are an integral part of the day’s impact. It’s normal to see students gathered around, throwing themselves into projects. Their lives are tied to their neighborhood as much or more than anyone else.

At Banning High School in Wilmington in May, hundreds of students rallied around their school, painted, mulched and cleaned the campus. Many of those students were invited to the Youth Development Academy, and they continue to be the inspiration for it.

Banning students completed this and five other murals during the 2009 Workday.

The YDA’s existence is built around creating an outlet for students like these who are yearning to have a positive impact on the world around them.

The team-building games and pool time during today’s session at the YDA gave them a summer activity, but in an environment where their potential and impact is acknowledged and encouraged.

Of course, there’s more than a little fun involved.

It follows the sentiment of Moevao Liavaa, senior lead officer for a neighborhood ShareFest serves. “If we can change two, three kids, deter them from joining gangs or doing drugs, to me that’s a success. If we can touch just a couple of kids and make them go on and be successful, that’s worth all this,” he said about a ShareFest community center project in Harbor Gateway.

YDA Session Two, Day Five (in photos)

Today was the end of week three, halfway through the second group of students’ stay.

Fifteen days of theater, art, games, swimming, skits, team-building, sports and writing have flown by, so today, take a look at a few highlights in the glut of photos we’ve taken. You can see them all on our flickr account here.

Like we said, energy

Team-building, crossing the “river” jumping from “rock” to “rock.”

Team-building, crossing the “river” by hopping across “rocks.”

Students created a tablou, a scene based off of one word. This was “funny.”

Pool time is usually the talk of the camp.

Other students didn’t need a lesson at all.

Many students got a chance to learn to swim.

They had plenty of energy to burn off.

Tag!

Can you stand up relying only on the person behind you and next to you?

Shannell McMillan helping out students in a Path4Teens workshop.