Summer 2021
SPECIAL FEATURE
GRADUATION
Below are some reflections from our Fellows and graduated Bridgers about their time in the Fellowship. We want to wish a hearty congratulations to all of our graduated Seniors, it has been a pleasure knowing each and every one of you, and we cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in the years to come!
Spring 2021
Spring is here!
As we enter spring, we are also nearing the end of our 2020-2021 program year. The weather is getting warmer, the leaves are returning to the trees, and our teens want to share what they have been up to at YouthBridge-NY. Over the past few months, we have continued to see engaging dialogue and growth from our teens in our Skillbuilding Workshops, Social Action Committee meetings, and Bridger meetings. Keep reading to hear from our teens about how they relate what they have been learning in our program to their own lives.
Rally Cry
By Isabel Ottensoser
A powerful image from Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy Awards performance. (Image source: https://www.nme.com/news/music/kendrick-lamar-18-1201242)
Normally, when I listen to music, it’s a mindless, passive activity. Sometimes the chorus sticks in my head and I am able to repeat the words, again, usually without much thinking. It’s more reflexive. When we were asked to find a song that spoke to the injustice of mass incarceration, I knew there were songs about injustice generally, but I never really focused on the lyrics. This assignment was incredibly eye – opening. I came to realize that music is not just for entertainment, or to put in the background of a Tik Tok post. Music is a platform for artists to express themselves to the world and when the world is listening, music can be a rally cry for a cause.
When discussing songs that represent injustice, many people in the group related to Childish Gambino’s “This is America”. When I think back to watching clips of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, this is the song that I hear in the background. In my mind, probably because it was the song that people used when posting about the police brutality and protests. As Morgan Sung, a journalist for Mashable wrote: “A remix of Childish Gambino's, ‘This is America’ is now a viral anthem on Tik Tok used to protest police brutality against black people.” Although I understand why so many people associated racial injustice with “This is America,” for me, “Alright,” by Kendrick Lamar, addressed more specifically the injustice of mass incarceration. He calls out the injustice, but ultimately has a hopeful message, singing, “we gonna be alright.” After our group discussion, I surfed the internet some more, paying closer attention to lyrics of the songs and associated videos and images. I watched Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Alright”from the 2016 Grammys. It doesn’t get more powerful than that. He walked onto the stage, dressed as a prisoner, with his band in cages. Sometimes to get a message across, it requires overloading more than one sense – in this case – the lyrics and the brutal images.
Selling an Idea: A Can of Worms
By Renggeng Zheng
A screenshot from Renggeng’s group during February’s Skillbuilding brainstorming session.
A large part of leadership is presenting yourself and your ideas in a flattering manner. To do this, you must be cognizant of what you’re selling/marketing, your audience, and what the circumstances are. Once you identify these factors, you can then create a coherent marketing message that will give you the best chance of putting forward your ideas.
In my group for our February skillbuilding workshop on marketing strategies, this was fun as we chose increasingly outlandish scenarios to try to market a solution to. Even in such unrealistic scenarios, the basic principles of marketing remain true. For example, say you are a teenager in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. I’m here trying to sell you the idea of eating a can of worms. Since you’re in the middle of the area notorious for plane and boat disappearances, let’s also place you on a deserted island after one of these unfortunate mishaps. In this scenario, you likely have no food, no water, and your prospects of survival are looking grim. Introducing the idea of eating worms to you, as a viable survival option, might be intriguing, and almost certainly would work when faced with the other option of starvation.
While the above is certainly a morbid and improbable scenario, it does demonstrate a lot of the core components required in making a change in the world. First, you need to identify a class/group of people you want to mobilize. Since I’m in the Food and Income Security committee, let’s go with legislators like the Senate Budgetary Committee. Then we identify a need, namely that of people working wages that are not enough to sustain them. Now, we identify a solution or idea, say, raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour. Now that we’ve identified a target, a need, and a solution, we can tailor our message to target these core components. For example, we can argue from a moral and pragmatic point of view—it will improve the quality of life for their constituents, and thus bolster their reelection chances and improve their public image. From an economic angle, we can then argue that giving people more spending capital allows them to bolster small businesses when they are buying goods and services with this newfound wealth.
Thus, the biggest thing I took away from this session was how to craft an effective campaign to push forward issues that concern you. I came into the session mostly expecting to learn about how to manage and monitor a campaign, but I learned that pushing for an agenda was much more than raw numerical quantity. It also depends on how impactful your message is. While you can mobilize a group if you have no coherent message, it becomes hard to effect change.
What Judaism Taught Me About Food and Income Security
By Benjamin Yazdi
“Since the 1960s, wealth inequality in America has only risen.” was the last thing I heard before my face froze from shock. That’s awful, I thought to myself. I hope in future we can fix this.
An image of farming in Israel (Image source: http://www.commodafrica.com/28-11-2019-des-agriculteurs-gambiens-se-forment-en-israel)
As a practicing Jew, I feel a moral obligation to understand the Old Testament, as well as secular sources’ approach toward fixing wealth inequality. This has led me to read many works of art, the most thought invoking secular one being "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" by Peter Singer. In this article, Singer argues that all individuals and governments should donate money until the marginal utility for them is equal to the marginal utility of starving people of any nationality. This radical vision for equality is largely in concordance with the Old Testament, which obligates all Jews (with the exception of either extremes on the wealth spectrum) to donate ten percent of their annual earnings to charity. Singer, who is not Jewish, writes that in a utopia all countries would donate to the staving, but in our world, one can not assume some other country will help out the starving people, and so each country must have the mindset that they are the only people who will help, and therefore quickly pick up any slack in the fighting world hunger effort. However, it is notable that under the Old Testament’s commandment, there would be no need for such a mindset and radical action.
At YouthBridge-NY, I was given the unique opportunity to be a part of the Food and Income Security committee, where I am learning more about the horrors of mass wealth inequality. In combining modern statistics with the Old Testament’s approach, I feel more knowledgeable and able to combat wealth inequality, even if it is on a minute level.
My YouthBridge-NY Food and Income Security committee members have talked at length about the lack of food security many households face. We have also discussed how women and non-white Americans have a lower average income than their white male counterpart, as well as other crestfallen statistics. Food security is a large and widely neglected issue. Many families do not have the means for healthy food, which can result in things like eating or mental disorders. As per my tendency, I related this tragedy back to the Old Testament’s solution. The Old Testament does not allow farmers to harvest crops on the corners of their farms -- the corners are left for the under-serviced to take. This acts as a safety-net for the under-serviced. Additionally, if, while the farmers are gathering their harvest, a sheave is dropped, it is not allowed to be picked up, and must be left for the under-serviced.
When I first came to YouthBridge-NY, I did not expect to have such a powerful experience; Not only did I learn about the tribulations of food and income security, I was also able to relate it to my religion in a positive, meaningful manner.
Trust in Yourself
By Abigail Crispin
A screenshot from our January Skillbuilding workshop, taken during the Werewolf game.
Prior to joining the workshop this January I felt a little stressed due to prior commitments. I only thought this workshop would be an educational aspect and didnt feel up for it. But what occurred was very different from what I previously thought! Instead of sitting at a screen listening to someone else talk, it was very interactive. We played a game called Werewolf which taught all of the participants to use their intuition. We had to find out who the wolves were in this session and it was actually really fun! Playing this interactive game allowed me to destress and step away from reality, even if it was just for a moment. I learned to trust in your gut and to have backbone and confront others if you think something is wrong. Along with playing this game, I also took a huge piece of advice which I can use in my day to day life which is to trust in yourself. I still think about it until this day.
Winter 2021
WHAT A YEAR
The end of 2020 brought a lot of challenges to YouthBridge-NY and the teens we work with. Despite that, YouthBridge-NY successfully kicked off our 2020-2021 programming. Utilizing Zoom, we welcomed a new cohort of Fellows, as well as our Bridgers who are back for their second year. By thinking creatively, we have been able to adapt our skillbuilding sessions, committee meetings, and bonding activities to a virtual setting. Read more below about how our teens have been impacted by the pandemic, and what role YouthBridge-NY plays in their experience of it.
What a year
The end of 2020 brought a lot of challenges to YouthBridge-NY and the teens we work with. Despite that, YouthBridge-NY successfully kicked off our 2020-2021 programming. Utilizing Zoom, we welcomed a new cohort of Fellows, as well as our Bridgers who are back for their second year. By thinking creatively, we have been able to adapt our skillbuilding sessions, committee meetings, and bonding activities to a virtual setting. Read more below about how our teens have been impacted by the pandemic, and what role YouthBridge-NY plays in their experience of it.
I don’t have to wait until I’m an adult to make a difference
By Gabriella Calabia
An empty, rainy street in Gabriella’s neighborhood
“As you may already know, the school system will be fully remote starting tomorrow, November 19, 2020. We know we will stay fully remote through Thanksgiving but we do not know what date Blended Learning will resume...” So read the email sent out a month ago by my high school officially announcing their doors would not be open.
This would be the second closure, eight months after the initial one in March. Burned into my memory was that last Friday of my sophomore year. No one knew it was the final day but I remember constantly hitting refresh on The New York Times’ Coronavirus Outbreak page, back when cases were measured in double digits. I heard feet tapping as the school administration made unorthodox trips to each classroom trying to explain the forthcoming future. Students coming to school were shrinking and just that morning my history teacher posed a discussion question to those that remained: are we overreacting? We chuckled at the headlines of colleges sending everyone home but I knew we were really trying to mask a growing fear. No one was laughing the next month and I was left to wonder how it seemed to happen so quickly.
After all this time I feel I should be more comfortable. Still, six hours of zoom is weird. I am slightly unnerved with never having met my teachers in person. I sit on edge watching the news and reading headlines like never before. Throughout all this, I keep telling myself that New York City was the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States and I lived through that. The US Navy sent us a ship to handle the overflow of patients and doctors and nurses from across the globe volunteered to assist us. I don’t think that a global pandemic will ever be normal, and in the same way, I don’t think existing through our devices will ever feel normal either.
As a Fellow I was selected for the Health & Inequality committee and right now we’re working to better understand how different social factors affect health outcomes with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. COVID-19 may not discriminate, but it has disproportionately ravaged low-income communities of color, exposing long standing inequalities in healthcare, and our overall society. I came to YouthBridge-NY with a passion for medicine, and through the articles, conversations, and incredible speakers, a crucial third dimension to my perception of science has been added. I have been able to realize that no action truly lies in isolation and have reckoned with my own place in the world.
In many ways the pandemic has only seemed to hasten the future and like many other teens I do envision my adult life and aspirations, but I no longer ask myself solely what I want to do. I now follow that question up with, what problems will I work to solve? How can I collaborate to build sustainable solutions for an inclusive path forward? Living through the pandemic, in NYC nonetheless, I have witnessed some of the most challenging times in recent history. However, I will be a testament to the overwhelming fortitude, perseverance, and compassion exhibited by each and everyone. Nothing about this is normal, nor are the selfless actions that carry our city and world.
The school email continued on letting us know that they would “alert the school community when we resume blended learning.” It dawned on me that this was one of the first times when there was no one I could turn to for the answer because we were all thrust into this together. The cadence of the message was hopeful and even six feet apart we were there for eachother. Through the support of my school and YouthBridge-NY, I know we will forge forward together. I also know I don’t have to wait until I’m an adult to make a difference.
A Pandemic Among Us
By Mahesa Miah
Mahesa’s screenshot from when our Fellows played Among Us in December
Never did I think, a year of my life would be spent almost entirely indoors and virtually. I went from exploring the different avenues of New York City to gaining expertise in the features of Zoom and Google Classroom. Despite the aches and pains that accompany a primarily virtual world, YouthBridge-NY has done an excellent job in minimizing those effects. We engage in activities that almost make us forget we’re looking at each other in small boxes.
I believe having conversations with others is fundamental to growth and personally, helps me develop a stronger knowledge base. One of my fears with the online transition was being limited in how much I was learning about the world. However, with YouthBridge-NY, I no longer have that fear. Although we meet only twice a month, each meeting is filled with companionship, support, and knowledge. A moment that really stuck with me was the first time the Fellows and I engaged in a skill-building activity by playing a game of Among Us. It was so fun to see everyone with their thinking caps on. Even though the impostor caught me really quickly, I still enjoyed the conversations that went on during emergency meetings. It was entertaining to watch everyone work with each other to identify the impostor. Although I’m sure being in person would be a lot more fun, YouthBridge-NY has done a great job in making sure we still get the full experience. This virtual experience has taught me that adaptability is important because you never know what will hit you.
Winter 2020
A busy beginning…
We have started off the programming year with a bang! Beginning with our orientation retreat in August we welcomed new eleventh grade fellows into the Fellowship and twelfth grade Bridgers into their second year. Fellows and Bridgers have been busy attending skill-building sessions, committee meetings, hearing from our alumni, and joining together for team building and bonding activities. Read more below and check out some photo highlights of the year so far!
A busy beginning...
We have started off the programming year with a bang! Beginning with our orientation retreat in August we welcomed new eleventh grade fellows into the Fellowship and twelfth grade Bridgers into their second year. Fellows and Bridgers have been busy attending skill-building sessions, committee meetings, hearing from our alumni, and joining together for team building and bonding activities. Read more below and check out some photo highlights of the year so far!
I found myself excited at the thought of my next two years with YouthBridge!
By Asha Lawrence
As the long, hot summer of 2019 was drawing to an end, there was one final thing to look forward to before I had to start thinking about school and the stresses of junior year - the overnight YouthBridge retreat. Having met a couple of the other fellows at the Popsicles in the Park event, I wasn’t going without knowing anyone, but I was definitely still nervous about what people would think of me and what the retreat had in store for us. However, these nerves were soon quelled when I arrived at the meeting spot and was met by smiling, friendly faces.
We kicked off the retreat with some awesome ice breakers and soon enough we were all laughing and engaged. A lot of the things I was initially worried about, such as learning names or making friends, seemed much less scary and I found myself excited at the thought of my next two years with YouthBridge. As someone who has only lived in New York for five years, it has been hard making friends outside of school but over the retreat, I was able to get to know some awesome teens, passionate about leadership and social justice just like me. A highlight of the trip for me was the bonfire where we all shared an object we felt was important to us - it was a great way to connect on a more personal level (and the smores were delicious!). We also had workshops on racism and discrimination in which we delved deeper into our unconscious biases and discussed our experiences in our schools and communities.
The retreat was a fantastic experience and made me ten times more excited to be a part of YouthBridge. Since then, I have got even closer to the other fellows and I am learning a lot in the Cultural Eye Committee.
Spotlight on...
Cultural eye
By Ilana Drake
Above is one of Ilana’s photos from her Cultural Eye collection!
Upon being accepted into the Cultural Eye group, I had thought we would simply look at photographs, discuss their significance, and, perhaps, connect these photos to the modern world. However, throughout the past four meetings, our group has bonded over potato chips and cups of water, while we discuss so much more than just the photos. We have learned a great deal about each other and our different communities that are all situated within the same city. Although our city prides itself on being a diverse melting pot, we have begun to realize that diversity does not necessarily mean desegregated or inclusive.
Viewing photographs and discussing them as a group has enabled us to practice our public speaking and have meaningful conversations based on particular details in a photo. Each of us has opened up about our challenges and hardships through our session ice breaker (at 5:05 pm), and this has highlighted our similarities, even if we attend different high schools and live in different neighborhoods that may only be separated by a single block.
One of our first tasks this fall was to depict our daily lives through a series of five photographs. We then were able to present these photos and provide a detailed explanation of the photos to the rest of the group. We certainly had a lot of laughs and giggles during that meeting as we all heard each other’s stories and began to establish our own community. Another assignment was to depict our families through photographs. We learned more about each other’s culture and home lives through this assignment, and some of us took videos, which enabled us to glimpse into that person’s life in more detail and depth.
In our last meeting, our assignment was to illustrate how our communities can overlap. New York City neighborhoods may dramatically differ simply by one city block, as being on one side (or the other side) of a given street or block may have dramatic implications with regard to being associated with a given neighborhood. While we are all separated by zip code, address, and school, we all come together when we gather at West 34th Street. When we take the subway or bus to and from school, we are crossing paths with others, who may be on their way to an unfamiliar destination that could be made more familiar with an ice breaker and a photo.
We have grown as a group and, during our last meeting, we had a long, authentic conversation about how our particular cultures are portrayed in the media. We discussed the pros and cons to social media, and we watched a video on how the Internet has changed us in ways we might not have anticipated.
Having to talk about these things in such an unguarded fashion lowered some walls
By Viyan Poonamallee
When I walked into the main space for Project Reach for the second time of the year, on the fourth floor of the what is quite possibly the shadiest building in Chinatown, I can’t say I was expecting much. The place had atmosphere, sure. The dimly lit hallway leading into a rickety graffiti smacked elevator that sounded like a microwave when it moved made it seem like we were entering a safehouse for the mob. This made for quite the ambiance and was—to put it with eloquence—totally rad, but my previous experience with the actual activity wasn’t anything special. As per routine, we did the usual light intermingling and team building exercises relating to some skills regarding either friendship or networking.
Honestly, it wasn’t anything particularly different compared to the other skill building workshops that we had at the YouthBridge office, so when we went back to Project Reach, I was expecting more of the same. However, that’s not what I got. For the first time, the session had a sense of intimacy. Rather than some TedTalk styled group work about career building, the topic was mainly on issues of homosexuality, and we had to speak about it on a very personal level.
Throughout the talk, we reflected on our own sexualities, our thoughts on bigotry against the LGBTQ community, and how those topics affected us in our own lives. Having to talk about these things in such an unguarded fashion lowered some walls that made our interactions somewhat duller before. For other sessions, the majority of YouthBridge members serve as coworkers at best—people that interact purely by a circumstantial assignment but for which who would never connect with each other. But for once, I felt like I understood my peers at the fellowship program at a deeper level. There was a degree of truly endearing honesty in the collective apprehension and eventual addressment of the topic, without the screen of social posturing segregating every interaction. That earnestness isn’t something I get to see very often from this group, but I hope to see more of it in the future.
Winter Retreat at Escape the Room NYC
On Sunday, January 26, YouthBridge-NY teens enjoyed a day of mysteries and puzzles at Escape the Room NYC! Everyone braved the winter weather to enjoy a Sunday afternoon of bonding. Fellows and Bridgers put their brains together to solve each problem to figure out how to escape the room. It was so fun to see everyone working together to win and make it through the rooms! We definitely could not have done it without each other! Check out some photos below:
