YDA 2009: It’s about the relationships

It’s unlikely anyone saw Krystian’s face through four weeks of the Youth Development Academy.

The 10th grader from Carson High School wears his shoulder-length hair like a shield around his head, completely covering his face.  It adds another buffer to what seems like a stony, withdrawn demeanor.

It wasn’t rare to see him sitting by himself, iPod headphones in, cutting off sound as well as sight.

But that immediate impression puts Krystian in a pigeonhole where he doesn’t belong.

Krystian and his counselor Daniel

It doesn’t show you his ambition, his intelligence and the bond he formed with counselors.

It doesn’t show you that the first day of camp, Krystian bounded off the bus before anyone else, and right away, he was asking about Daniel — his counselor from last year.

“I just like him. He’s kind of mellow. He’s funny and cool,” Krystian said.

Daniel was eager to see his friend again too. He talks about his vivid memory of Krystian playing soccer the first year and suddenly picking up the ball in the middle of the game and taking off with it.

“I laughed,” Daniel said. ”There’s something unique and special about him. He is soft spoken. He is very smart.”

Occasionally when Krystian didn’t want to participate in group activities and wanted just listen to his iPod instead, Daniel said he didn’t make him put his music away or put pressure on him to join in — but he had a purpose for that.

“I never got on Krystian’s case about not following every rule all the time,” Daniel said. ”He always knew that I accepted him no matter what.”

Krystian and Daniel during one of the art days

During the second half of the Academy, Daniel and Krystian were close to inseparable, and when Daniel asked Krystian to talk in front of a group of about 80 students, he didn’t balk.

When Krystian stood on stage to share a prediction of himself 10 years in the future as part of vision Path4Teens workshops helped students produce, he was no slouch. He is already working on college-level courses to get a head start on his dream of completing multiple master’s degrees.

“I always promised my mom I would be a really successful person,” he said. “She’s the reason I’m still in school.”

The pool didn't change Krystian's look.

Aisha Sterling is a teacher who knew Krystian from Stephan White Middle School, and she got a chance to see him again at the Academy.

She said so many people miss or dismiss that side of Krystian. That’s exactly why it’s so important for students to get that personal, attentive interaction the YDA is built for. Otherwise people miss the part of Krystian that is a writer, an ambitions student and isn’t afraid to give a hug.

Sterling saw first-hand how different he YDA is than a normal educational experience when she was picking up Krystian after the science portion of the Academy.

“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.”

In the end, much of it came down to one thing Krystian said — he was comfortable at the Academy.

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

On close to the last day of camp, Krystian pulled back the veil.

“Krystian is a normal kid who most likely has experienced some tough things in his life in the past year or so.  I’m glad that I could be a friend to him and let him know that no matter what he does, I still accept him and care about him,” Daniel said.

YDA 2009 highlight slideshow

There are hundreds of photos from the YDA on our flickr account here. Here’s just a little preview.

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.”