Working with at-risk youth provides lessons about social change
Editor’s Note: This article is written by Jennifer Page Kramm, 2008-10 Phillips scholar, reporting on her summer project experience. Phillips scholars design and implement an project to address unmet needs in Minnesota.
As an intern for the Leaders for Social Change program this summer, I partnered with an after-school program that provides free summer programming for youth at-risk for graduating from high school. Students are “at-risk” if they are part of the special education program, learned English as a second language and/or have low incomes. The program provides learning activities in the morning with licensed teachers and enrichment activities in the afternoon for kindergarten through eighth grade students. I focused on service-learning efforts during the enrichment portion, provided culturally sensitive educational opportunities and developed student leadership.
Student Elton Calvario, Jennifer Kramm and Summer PLUS staff member Yajaira Casillas
“In social change you begin at A and end at Z,” said Mary Carlsen, a professor of social work and family studies at St. Olaf who served as my academic advisor this summer. “At the beginning of the summer you started at A. By the end of the summer you should get to D.” Carlsen explained that social change is a process of building upon previous efforts, and the initial stages of change are the slowest. Not only does social change take time, but it takes collaboration between diverse sets of contributors. It takes people power. Having finished a summer advancing social change, I couldn’t agree more.
Part of achieving social change requires the making and strengthening of relationships — which happened between the staff of Summer PLUS and the students. Students opened up to loving adults about their passions and challenges and had the opportunity to express their thoughts. For example, one project included readings and discussions about the need for elderly care homes. During the discussions, cultural differences surfaced and were evaluated. After preparation, students visited an elderly care center and asked the residents questions. Students responded to the experience by creating a mural to thank the residents for their time that featured the student’s interests and dreams. It was apparent through the student’s excitement in the discussions, engagement during the visit and reflection that service-learning was meaningful for their own lives and for building relationships.
Relationships from this summer will spill over into the school year through a mentoring program at St. Olaf that serves many of the same students as the summer program. Reaching Our Goals (ROG) is a Latino mentoring program that was created in the summer of 2000 by the last Phillips Scholar from St. Olaf, Kirstan Ketter. Nine years later I have the privilege of continuing her work by co-directing the program that she founded. This coming school year ROG hopes to continue to empower youth by fostering relationships between college mentors and Latino youth.
Our larger goal is to create genuine and sustained relationships in the community to respond to the needs and interests of all parties no matter how timid their voice. The change that we hope for will take years. But this summer I have seen the potential for change, and know that someday we will reach Z — as in the end of the alphabet when graduation names are read off, and “at-risk” students of Northfield are included in the walk to receive diplomas.
I offer deepest thanks to The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation for making this experience possible. Thanks to the Center for Experiential Learning’s Leaders for Social Change program, made possible by the Lilly Grant Program, for deeply enriching this experience and providing significant support. Finally, sincerest appreciation to Northfield community members who have modeled how to meaningfully engage in the lives of others.