Last Friday, we had the privilege of celebrating the graduation of 89 teens from the Y’s longstanding New Horizons II program. Like everything in these times, this was a uniquely structured summer program and closing celebration, with essentially everything being done virtually. The Y is a proud “place-based” organization, and the ability to bring young people together as a supportive cohort whose life experiences are marked by unstable housing has made the New Horizons II program a profoundly important one to the thousands of youth who have participated in it over the many years it has run.
So, in the year of COVID-19, those proud and resilient young people were able to achieve an enormous amount this summer despite the obstacles they faced. Of course, these kids are well-practiced in overcoming obstacles; their lives are defined by their capacity to push through the seemingly infinite barriers that our society has constructed for them.
Friday’s graduation was marked by a number of wonderful moments, including words of encouragement from Baltimore’s own Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets; reflections from three NHII youth, Shenyah Harvin, Eleanor VanBlargan and Taylor Barksdale; and the sparkling presence of proud 2007 NHII graduate Xeniah Merrell, who is now an engineer working for Whiting-Turner. Her smile, positivity and smarts literally lit up the screen. A video presentation put together by the students was appropriately entitled “I am Unique.”
This year’s program, which continued the tradition of combining life skills development with the opportunity to work, was a uniquely Y affair as most of the work assignments involved doing very important Y work. Work included writing newsletters, crafting birthday cards and supporting needs assessments for our Community Schools programs. Additionally, many students wrote "Thinking of You Cards" to the Y’s senior members to remind them that the Y is still there for them, even though they may be quarantined. They also made membership calls and updated records. Outside of the Y, a group of students also worked with Global Air Media to build drones and support their summer program.
One of the big highlights this summer was the virtual two day Networking/Career Event. Professionals in various fields (healthcare, architecture, human resources, engineering, cosmetology and more) shared their perspectives with the students as well as discussed current job openings and certificate programs. The students asked great questions, including, "when you look at a resume, what red flags prevent you from moving a candidate forward?"
A big thanks goes out to the many funders of this program and the great Y associates who make NHII go, including Tasha Judkins, Benita Vargas-Brown, Vernon Mangum, Yvonne Savage, Marie Beasley, James Hall, Sharon Johnson, Heather Naviasky and Charmayne Turner.
Thanks to all of you, 89 young people in Baltimore City and County who are often forgotten became the center of our collective attention and hopefully received the encouragement, resources and spark needed to become, just maybe, a future engineer at Whiting-Turner!
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland