In 2003, Principal of Korn Design, Denise Korn, and her business partner Javier Cortes embarked on a mission to provide access and opportunity to disconnected youth in Boston to the world of design.

Guided by their vision to shape the next generation of design professionals, through the creation of a pathway for urban Boston Public High School students to explore the design industry through their participation in a paid, seven week summer internship where they are paired with a senior level design mentor at a leading design firm or in house creative department for an area nonprofit or organization; Youth Design seeks to meet the most critical social economic needs of Boston area youth.

Fast forward to 2012 where to date Youth Design has placed more than 90 students stemming from some of Boston’s “high-risk” neighborhoods at more than 45 participating design mentor firms and organizations throughout the city.

“Economic development is at the heart of what we do at Youth Design,” says Denise Korn, Executive Director. “We are fueling the creative economy and equipping our students with marketable design skills in order to empower their pursuits of viable and productive future through the lens of design.”

Over the years, Korn Design has played an instrumental role in the success of the organization. Through its innovative and cutting edge design work, Korn Design has effectively supported the brand development and strategy of Youth Design, which has supported the organizations tremendous momentum around its national “call to action” to the design community at large to roll-up their sleeves and mentor the next generation of diverse design professionals.

Check out this link to past Rosoff Award Winners!

The DREAM Program and the office of District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson developed a marathon-training program that prepared me. Training was thorough and extensive and time management was key. Time management was especially hard while coaching track and field, committing to Urbano Project’s “SPEAK OUT. ACT UP. MOVE FORWARD” program about trust, protest, and making your voice heard, attending Youth on Board steering committees and running miles with L Street, and my running partners, Miguel and Seth, early on Sunday Mornings.  During the whole preparation for the marathon, I was constantly on the move being challenged both mentally and physically.

THE DAY OF THE MARATHON!
On racing day the air was hot humid with the temperature hitting the mid 80‘s. I ran wearing my blue marathon shirt which contained the “DREAM” logo which I decorated with black permanent marker signatures of friends and supporters and words of inspiration. I ran as a Boston Latin Academy student representing Youth Design, Boston Student Advisory Council, Urbano Project, Brian J. Honan Fellowship, Teen Empowerment, Young Africa, A.I.B Lesley, Write Boston, ICA Teen Art Council, Twelfth Baptist Church, and many more of Boston’s youth enrichment programs. Ironically, I was running as a minority for a majority of what the great City of Boston has to offer, and that in truth, was the motivational push I needed to get to the finish line! Yes, I finished, with a half marathon time of 1:57:23, and a finish time of 4:52:41.

THE EXPERIENCE!
It’s funny; before all of this I hated running. I ran my turf around Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan. I ran nonstop at track practice, and again at L Street. After track season was over, my legs were exhausted. I could barely walk! The L Street runs were becoming a burden and strain on my health. There were days I took breaks just to ice and stretch. Then, I started healing. The Reggie Lewis Center, White stadium and the Tobin Community Center gym all became places of comfort, and recovery.  The L street runs gradually became easier, and I started to understand my body more. I became so mentally relaxed, and confident that as the race was nearing, I couldn’t help but focus on the present and smile at the great task ahead.

The Day of the marathon, I was given the go-ahead to leave without my running partners, Seth and Miguel. At 5:45 my mentor Torli Krua picked me up and took me to Park Street where runners and buses waited.  I saw no one in my age group. There was an enormous racial gap between all participants; the majority of the runners were White. I automatically stood out. Laughing to myself I knew my “DREAM” logo shirt kind of said it all.  To my relief, I met my schoolteacher, Ms. Gentile, and we wished each other luck. Then, our numbers were called and we were on the move.

During the race, my mind was running as fast as my feet. I ran 15 miles nonstop and then cramped up in pain. I stood as still as possible, looked down at my  “DREAM” shirt and read my family and friend’s messages, “Go Tucker!” …”You can do it!”… “Si se puede!” … “We’re so proud!”  After reading my shirt, I made up my mind that quitting was not an option.  After ten minutes of stretching and recovery, I started running. Yes, Charlie horses ran the rest of the miles with me, but Charlie was ignored till I crossed the finish line.

Wesley Korir from Kenya pulls away from Levy Matebo to win the 2012 Boston Marathon.

I was running for my life, those I represent and the cheering crowd of supporters.  There’s a quote I heard from Life Togetherness that says, “When you go alone, you go much quicker, but when you go together you get much farther.” I made it beyond the 26.2mile finish line because of my supporters.

The Lesson!
I’m grateful for those who support The Dream Program, the City Councilor’s office, Youth Design and urban youth. With support, mentorship and guidance, Boston’s urban youth can accomplish anything. Keep up the Dream!!

Tucker S. Gaye

My name is Jasmine Daniel and I’m the new Program Associate at Youth Design. Today Dhakir Warren (Youth Design Program Manager) and I had the honor of meeting with a Brazilian delegation at the World Council Boston office.  IT WAS AMAZING! The program started off with a short introduction from the 10 Brazilian delegates. They were all leading officials in the Social Service of Commerce (SESC) Brazil.

Essentially, they run programs dedicated to involving urban underserved youth in culture, arts, physical activity and health education. They wanted to know how similar at risk youth oriented programs in the United States functioned, garnered support and performed outreach.

After explaining the premise of Youth Design and our organizational objectives, we exchanged ideas, goals and contacts with the delegates.

One of the delegates wants Youth Design students to design a campaign for the SESC!!  Continue reading with us to find out what happens in the future.

Ciao!  (Goodbye in Portuguese)

Jasmine

Youth Design is proud to announce the winners of its 2011 Time to Design competition. The contest took place during the summer of 2011 as Youth Design students participated in their 7-week internships with one of our many participating mentor design firms.

27 youth designers entered the contest and were asked to create an original design which best represents a political view, social justice issue, thought or idea related to the state of their community, the environment, education or the world at large.

The top 10 winners of the contest will see their designs represented on printed notecards, three of which will be silkscreened onto T-shirts that will be available for purchase on Karmaloop.com

Congratulations to our Youth Design 2011 Time to Design winners! Stay tuned for more information on how you can purchase your very own set of 2011 Time to Design notecards and T-shirts. All proceeds will benefit Youth Design.

I was so excited to reconnect with Lydia Kardos, our first Youth Design intern at Korn Design just 10 years ago! After graduating from the Boston Arts Academy Lydia went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, where she has been working as an art director and photographer. Here’s a shot of us on the set of the New York shoot for the Youth Design PSA shot at Karmaloop.TV’s NY studio last week.

Lydia Kardos Youth Design Class of 2003 & Youth Design Founder, Denise Korn

Below is a shot of Carlos Alonzo, Youth Design Alum from the summer of 2010 at the Boston shoot for the Youth Design PSA, shot at Karmaloop.TV’s Boston studio last week.

Carlos Alonzo Youth Design Class of 2010!

Marietta Esquerdo Youth Design Class of 2010 Boston PSA Shoot Karmaloop.TV

Marietta Esquerdo Class of 2010 with Denise Korn and Gabe Freedman of Karmaloop.TV

Stay tuned to see the final cut!

Denise Korn, author "10 Who Mentor" addresses students at the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury (seated left to right: Martha Jones, Robert Lewis Jr. and Neal Kane, co-author "10 Who Mentor")

It was a dynamic morning, filled with optimism and hope for the students in the audience who are too often undervalued and overlooked in our city and beyond due to the harsh realities of life in urban communities. If there was ever any question about the desire and ambition of our young people, one would have only had to look around the auditorium this morning to see the desire in the eyes of these incredible students and their excitement to learn about the abundance of limitless opportunities before them.

Students from grades 6-8 learned first hand from the personal accounts of Team 10 who Mentor about the impact that mentorship has played in their own lives both as children and adults. With each presenter sharing his or her reason for making mentorship apart of a life-long commitment to future generations of youth in Boston and beyond.

Robert Lewis Jr., Vice-President of Programs at The Boston Foundation and one of ten extraordinary individuals profiled in "10 Who Mentor"

The assemblies were made possible through the partnership between the Timilty Middle School and Simmons College Scott Ross Center’s Promising Pals Program, which chose 10 Who Mentor as the dedicated resource to help encourage dialogue between Timilty Middle School students and their adult pen pal mentors.

Neal Kane, co-author "10 Who Mentor" addresses students at the James P. Timilty Middle School around the importance of being able to communicate through writing.

Aimed at increasing literacy, writing skills, self-expression and role modeling; the Promising Pals Program was founded at the Timilty Middle School in 1986 by then Principal Roger Harris. 2012 marks the 26^th Anniversary of the program, which currently serves more than 690 Boston children, each of whom is paired with a pen pal mentor.

Throughout the year students and their pen pals exchange letters where they discuss topics ranging from personal accounts of life lessons to the importance of academic persistence as it relates to pursuing and securing a successful future both academically and personally.  Denise and the Team 10 Who Mentor look to visit more schools and youth groups with these conversations. The energy was amazing!

Youth Design played an immense role in promoting my enthusiasm for design as well as in determining my direction for the future. I had not anticipated that one summer program and internship would be this beneficial for my design education. Interning with Catapult Thinking was influential in my understanding of design strategy, branding, and research based projects. It was an introduction to a holistic design approach, a primer for the skills and methodology that I would later learn at Carnegie Mellon.

Carnegie Mellon University School of Design

After almost three years of immersion in design school, it’s difficult to comprehend a time when design had little to no significance to me. And I think that a lot of design students are content completely forgetting that there was ever a stage in life when design did not play an important role in their way of thinking, acting, and making. However, students in public high school are less likely to realize the potential for design because the opportunity is rarely presented to them.

My future in design revealed itself one day when I came across a hi-lighter yellow flier for the Youth Design program unassumingly taped to the wall outside my history classroom. For the next month before interviewing for the program, I spent my free time creating and consolidating a portfolio of my best work. This process was my first experience compiling a portfolio, one that would prepare me for when I applied to Carnegie Mellon’s industrial design program the next year.

My Sanctuary "aka" My Design Studio

Now that I am a junior at CMU, much of what I have learned is beginning to culminate in the development and synthesis of integrated products and systems. It’s been a short time since I graduated from Youth Design and I’ve already witnessed the positive outcome that the program can offer students like me. That’s not to say that it doesn’t take some diligence on the individual’s part. All of the effort I put into my work is formative in my progress as a designer, and I have come to learn that (much like the Thursday YD sessions) an experiential and collaborative process is a substantial component of design.

Conrad Ennis is a Youth Design Class of 2008 Alum and is currently studying Industrial Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Click here to view his work.

Immediately following Yvel was a presentation on nutrition, which I found to be extremely informative. It was great to learn how easy it is to establish and maintain healthy eating habits. I also learned how to calculate my BMI (Body Mass Index), which for a guy as skinny as myself is easily done!

I walked away from this refreshing Saturday morning session feeling satisfied that it was time well spent especially given that I walked away with a deeper  understanding of  how being knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition enables you to make healthy life decisions.

As a designer I know how important it is to keep your mind focused, fueled and fervent. By making smarter choices about the foods you eat and getting regular exercise you will be able to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle that will support peak performance at school and work. Fueling your mind and body so that you are able to live your life to the fullest while reducing your risk of diseases often associated with unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles; like diabetes and hypertension is the key to living a well balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Starting is easier than you may think! You can make a difference by simply taking a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood (3x a week) and by cutting back on your daily intake of foods, which are high in fat, sodium or sugar.

Take “baby-steps,” we all know that in most cases drastic changes never stick! As a designer, when I am presenting a client with a new idea or approach, I will often get them comfortable with a new idea by showing them a little bit of the concept at a time.  This ensures that they are not confronted with such a drastic alternative to what they are accustomed to, ultimately scaring  them into retreating  to their old or familiar way of doing things.

The same can be said for your body. Instead of setting unrealistic goals that you are sure to fall short of meeting, take smaller more manageable steps.  You can start by simply cutting back on your bad habits and slowly inserting those healthy habits we have discussed into your new lifestyle.

So don’t delay, get up and get moving and on the road toward a healthy tomorrow – today!

Until Next Time,

Ivan Richiez- Youth Design Class of 2010

]]> http://youthdesign.org/blog/2012/01/30/young-men%e2%80%99s-success-series-fueling-your-success-through-healthy-living/feed/ 0 http://youthdesign.org/blog/2012/01/25/going-digital-youth-design-tackles-social-media-to-create-social-change/ http://youthdesign.org/blog/2012/01/25/going-digital-youth-design-tackles-social-media-to-create-social-change/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:51:14 +0000 admin http://youthdesign.org/blog/?p=1707 Last fall, Youth Design was given the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Future M: College Face-Off “Social Media For Social Good.” It was a competition that provided area college students with the opportunity to give back and provide support to local nonprofit organizations through the development of online marketing strategies to help them increase awareness across their target audience segments through the use of social media. Students who participated in the “College Face-off” were exposed to “real” online marketing challenges facing many nonprofits today.

Youth Design was teamed up with an amazing group of students from Harvard University who came into the challenge with the background knowledge needed to help Youth Design develop a robust social media strategy that supported our online marketing objectives.  The Harvard students were given 1 hour to create a strategy to better market Youth Design through the various social media platforms available.

The team identified tactics which were included in their overall strategy that would ultimately increase traffic to the  Y0uth Design website and to our Facebook page. The presentation of the strategy  painted a vivid picture of how Youth Design could be marketed  more effectively through the strategic use of digital communications.

I came into the event having little to no knowledge on how much marketing through social networks can impact an organizations’ awareness and engagement efforts. While listening to the presentations that each of the college teams crafted on behalf their  assigned non-profit, I was exposed me to the many different ways organizations can approach their online marketing strategy  in order to deliver intended results.

With endless platforms to choose from that are “cheap to free,”  there is a wide-array  of digital communication tools organizations’ can tap in order to effectively engage their target audiences and keep them coming back for more – content that is!

As the program coordinator for Youth Design, the use of social media platforms to raise awareness, disseminate information and keep our alumni and supporters engaged is critical to our overall success.

So take it from me, don’t be afraid to explore your organizations’ use of social media. It may seem daunting at first glance, but I assure you with upfront investment in the development of a sound online marketing strategy your organization will receive the much sought after return on investment!

Until Next Time,

Ivan Richiez
Youth Design Class of 2010

Special thanks to the Harvard University Team and Future M

]]> http://youthdesign.org/blog/2012/01/25/going-digital-youth-design-tackles-social-media-to-create-social-change/feed/ 0 http://youthdesign.org/blog/2011/11/29/think-big-dream-big-youth-as-agents-of-change-town-hall/ http://youthdesign.org/blog/2011/11/29/think-big-dream-big-youth-as-agents-of-change-town-hall/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:42:43 +0000 admin http://youthdesign.org/blog/?p=1637 Town Hall at Harvard University Law School could not have been a more perfect setting for the “Think Big Dream Big: Youth as Agents of Change” event. Youth Leaders from throughout the city assembled in the hallowed halls of the historic university to hear the inspirational words of Eric Thomas, known to many as the “Hip-Hop Preacher.”

A dynamic speaker, Eric grabbed the attention of everyone in the audience the moment he opened his mouth. Reflecting on his life and the hardships he endured, he spoke of perseverance through adversity. Of Triumph through empowerment and the importance of setting goals and surrounding oneself with positive people committed to success.

At the conclusion of Eric’s remarks youth leaders split off into smaller group sessions. Motivated by Eric’s mantra of hard work and its ultimate pay-off, youth leaders participated in discussions were they exchanged ideas around topics ranging from how to keep the challenges of life from becoming stumbling blocks to individual success, to how to identify and take advantage of resources in their respective communities to help support the pursuit of their individual goals and dreams.

The event was an uplifting experience to take part in and one that will not be easily forgotten.  As youth leaders trickled out of the event one could not help but feel the renewed sense of energy and passion they felt toward becoming agents of change in their communities and beyond!

check out this video for a more insightful look into Think BIG Dream BIG: Youth as Agents of Change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UikP3w_7PB4

http://www.thinkbig-dreambig.com/home-3/