Recently we were invited to speak to a group of students at the Higginson-Lewis Middle School in Roxbury about Youth Design for “Career and Success Exploration Day” and engage them in a design-related activity. The students are participants in an after-school program called “Higg-Lew” Leaders, started by Sarah Spofford and Gabrielle Pingue, who asked Youth Design to participate in their “Career and Success Exploration” series.

Two of our recent Youth Design grads—Dahrell Rush and Khyle Parke— took part in the presentation and led the activity. After telling the students about Youth Design with Dahrell and Khyle’s input, I showed the the students some of the design work Dahrell and Khyle created in their Discovery Books during their last Youth Design summer, as well as a couple of self-portrait drawings they have each done on their own. The middle schoolers were very excited by the design and artwork, especially those present who like to draw and create artwork themselves.

Dahrell introduced the activity that he had developed, which was a drawing assignment that left plenty of room for imagination and individuality. In addition to the students there were several adult volunteers and program leaders present who took part in the drawing project also. It was a great opportunity for students and adults alike to explore visual story-telling and to hear from Dahrell, Khyle, and myself what we saw in their work that was strong and how it could be made stronger to have more visual impact and/or communicate their idea more effectively. Dahrell and Khyle wrapped up the activity by putting all the work together and leading the group in reflections and participatory critique. They concluded the meeting by offering advice to students about how to approach the process of trying something new without fear, pushing through moments of frustration, and some other very useful insights—applicable to a range of situations—that they have learned through their work as artists, as art/design students, and in their Youth Design workplace experiences.

Whether you won big playing classic carnival games, lucked out at the cupcake raffle, took a dive in the bouncy house, or sketched on the live art wall – Youth Design’s “Rally for Change” Celebration was certainly not your “typical chicken dinner.” We have all been to our fair share of those. The kind where you keep looking at your program to determine how much more you have to endure or if there will be an opportunity to make a quick exit. A complete snooze-fest! Well you’ll never experience that at a Youth Design production! The “Rally for Change” Celebration showcased the spirit  of an organization committed to using design as a vehicle to place urban high school students on the path to a professional career.

Excitement filled the rooms! Creative energy was flowing, in addition to those fantastic specialty cocktails — served to adults only of course! The real magic was the celebration of all of our young, diverse, emerging designers. The innovators and trend setters of tomorrow. The young men and women, many of whom face difficult circumstances in their daily lives, but are nonetheless passionate and dedicated to developing their creative talents and themselves. Guests were inspired by the Youth Designers and saw first hand that their passion is real, their talent is real and their opportunities are endless!

Youth Design may be small now, but we are mighty and we are growing! We will continue  to rally  the design community and encourage the private sector to roll up their sleeves and invest in mentoring  the next generation of diverse designers. And we will continue to deliver high-quality programing to bring about life-changing impact on the lives of the students we serve.

Thank you to all of our event sponsors, design mentor firms and  volunteers.We value your dedication and support of Youth Design. You play a critical role in our growth and ongoing success!

And congratulations again to Youth Design’s  Mentor of the Year  Award Recipients.  We value your leadership and your work to impact the lives of Boston Youth!

Linda Nathan Mentor of the Year
Jason Stevens “Up and Coming” Mentor of the Year
Jason Talbot “Up and Coming” Mentor of the Year

We look forward to seeing you all again next year and thank you again for RALLYING WITH US!

Ricardo Rodriguez and Michael Kelley, Event Chairs
Denise Korn, Founder and Dhakir Warren, Program Director

We presented our first annual “2011 Mentor of The Year” award to Josh Bruno, Director of the School-To-Career program at the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC).  There were also be brief presentations from YD student graduates and Founder, Denise Korn.

Check out our interview on Karmaloop and the Boston Globe!