YW Boston's InIt - Youth Leadership InItiative

05/15/2019

Presenting each delegate from the Class of 2019!

05/13/2019

Congratulations to the InIt Class of 2019!!

On Thursday, May 2nd, the InIt 2019 delegates gathered together with friends, family, teachers, staff, and supporters to celebrate the completion of a Program Year filled with learning, difficult dialogues, community-creating, and so much personal growth.

The night was student-planned and facilitated from the start to the end, and included a student-made video, community poem, and a gallery walk where friends and fam could learn about the 11 different Community Action Projects that were designed by delegates and implemented at their respective schools.

These projects tackled a variety of problems and injustices that students identified at their schools including mental health, adultism and healthy adukt-student relationships, gender inclusivity, racism, and many more.

Thank you to everyone who showed out for these students and believed in their ability to lead, inspire, and change.

Special shoutout to JP Licks for donating ice cream to our event and to Suffolk University for donating their beautiful event space. We are so thankful!

Please enjoy/download these photos at your leisure. All of these (amazing) photos were taken by Coralys Negretti of YW Boston.

04/24/2019

On April 6th, YW Boston's InIt - Youth Leadership InItiative Class of 2019 came together for their final program day focused on reflection, gratitude, and closing. In addition to carrying on the tradition of chalking in Copley Square, students also spent time closing out in discussion groups and sharing affirmation and gratitude for the InIt community and their learnings.

04/12/2019

🤩📣DELEGATION SPOTLIGHT! 🤩📣

Meet the young folks representing Beaver Country Day School - Isabella, Malachi, and Randall !!!

🌟 ISABELLA 🌟

🗣What Inspires You?

"I am inspired by people who put themselves in uncomfortable positions in order to make change that others are too afraid to make. I am also inspired by people who do not let peer pressure, societal pressure, or any other influences get in the way of sharing their ideas."

🗣What;s Your favorite InIt Memory?

"My favorite InIt memory was when everyone was on the retreat and everyone was walking in the freezing back to the bedrooms. Me and some other delegates all walked together getting covered by one big blanket, we were so close - laughing, tripping on each other, singing - I will never forget that moment. But what was so amazing about that experience is that we had all only known each other for 2 days! But because we were all sharing are experiences and engaging in different activities and conversations we were all able to become the best of friends so fast."

🌟MALACHI🌟

🗣What inspires You?
"When it comes to things that inspire me to accomplish my goals the answer is simple to me, it's my family."

🗣 Describe yourself in 5 words.

"Intelligent, Understandable, Funny, Athletic, Caring."

🌟RANDALL🌟

🗣 What Inspires You?

"My friends and family as well as the various people in my life motivate me to be my best self. "

🗣 What Was Your Favorite InIt Memory?

"My favorite init memory is when we had our group camp fire, everyone was telling their stories, reading poetry and sharing fin moments. It was beautiful. "

04/02/2019

YESS CJ!! InIt represent!!

We are excited to have Chrislerne Jean-Louis, High School Student and YW Boston's InIt - Youth Leadership InItiative delegate, as a 2019 Stand Against Racism content curator! For her content, she chose a spoken word poem that initiates conversations on police brutality. Learn about STAND and how to start a conversation: https://www.ywboston.org/sar-2019-registration/

03/26/2019

Amazing opportunity for young women ages 13-18 who want to learn about coding for free!!

"We are thrilled to share that we will be hosting free two-week long coding camps in Boston for young women aged 13 -18 on July 8 - June 19 and July 22 - August 2.

In our two-week camps, young women learn to build web or mobile applications in a collaborative and creative environment focused on fostering community. In addition to direct learning, we host inspiring women in technology as part of a speaker series. The program is 100% free for students including laptops, lunches/snacks as well as transportation stipends, if/as needed.

Our application deadline is March 31 11:59 PST. Young women can apply through a low lift application at kodewithklossy.com/apply ! "

https://www.kodewithklossy.com/apply

Apply for a Kode with Klossy Camp Scholarship! Over the course of 2 weeks, girls 13-18 are introduced to programming and software engineering principles.

03/22/2019

🤩🗣 DELEGATION SPOTLIGHT! 🗣🤩

Meet CJ and Leah - our two InIt delegates representing Cristo Rey Boston High School.

🌟 CJ 🌟

What inspires you?
- "What inspires me is watching the underdogs thrive."

What is your favorite InIt memory so far?
- "My favorite memory is at InIt was when we had the discussion groups at emersion weekend."

🌟 LEAH 🌟

What’s one of your greatest accomplishments?
- “I got a full 100% for art in freshman year.”

What’s your favorite InIt memory so far?
- “I loved the yarn activity that BLS held during the January program day. Going around the room, telling each other one thing that we love about one another made me feel like we were even closer.”

03/19/2019

Youth film festival happening this Saturday in Cambridge!

“Do It Your Damn Self!!” (DIYDS!!) National Youth Film Festival is the longest running youth-produced festival in the country, drawing over 800 youth and adults to public screenings every year. The festival was founded in 1996 by six Cambridge teens who felt misrepresented in media and wanted to...

03/01/2019

📣 DELEGATION SPOTLIGHT! 📣🗣

Meet Mayra and Majesty from our Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) delegation. look at them shine!!
🌟 MAJESTY 🌟

Describe yourself in 5 words.
- "Funny, hard-working, open-minded, motivated, creative."

What inspires you?
- "Planning my future and seeing/believing in what I can become."

🌟 MAYRA 🌟

What's one of your greatest accomplishments?

- "My greatest accomplishment has been my growth, mentally. From the culture I grew up in and the past I had, I am proud of the way I see the world and I'm proud of the compassion and motivation I carry in my heart."

What makes you feel powerful?

- I feel the most powerful when i'm in the kitchen. The range of creativity that happens excites me. Being able to create something from scratch and bring people together with that creation completes me."

02/26/2019

"There are no signs enforcing segregated seating on buses anymore; bus drivers can’t order a black woman to make way for a white man. Instead, a system of structural barriers and institutional neglect ensure that de facto segregation, by race and by income, does a lot of the same dirty work."

The Boston Globe by Nestor Ramos What would Rosa Parks see if she boarded a bus in Boston today? Parks now symbolically rides every MBTA bus. Thanks to a law signed last month, a decal or LED sign on every bus will permanently commemorate the woman whose bravery and sacrifice became a flashpoint