I really enjoyed how Adeola the executive director of Youth
in Action not only explained and gave evidence on why she thought Youth in
Action was a great place to be, but she also included other YIA youth and
allowed them to be able to contribute and share their experiences. Who better
then the YIA youth or alum to explain their experience and how YIA helped them
grow from being close minded and believing that they are too young to have any
bright ideas, to being leaders of certain groups. And because I have been there
every week I am a witness to this amazing program. From the moment I walk into
YIA and join and participate in their deep discussions my views, my thoughts,
and beliefs become challenged. It is truly amazing, especially because there
are times that if my classmates are having a discussion I tend to shy away, but
when I bug-in into their conversations they really make you feel comfortable
with what you have to say.
I also like how they give each other space to grow, Erroll
the director of the YIA programs explained that every time a youth or even the
director of YIA created something the adults and the youth gave deltas and
pluses. “We decided to use a YIA team tradition called the “Plus Delta Hot
Seat.” It’s basically an opportunity for everyone to give and receive feedback
on contributions to the team and areas for growth. A piece of newsprint with a
person’s name on it is set up with a column for pluses (strengths and
contributions to celebrate) and a column for deltas (areas for growth). The
person is asked to leave for a few minutes so the team can begin to discuss
their pluses and deltas. Then they’re invited back to join the discussion. Now
I know it sounds brutal here on paper, but believe me, the whole process comes
from a place of love and respect.” The fact that they are not afraid to stretch
themselves and challenge themselves for the better gives me so much respect for
Youth in Action.
One of the YIA youth that impacted me the most was the story
of Marlie Board Co-chair. “When ideas flow at YIA, relationships form and minds
are opened. In fact, regular debates help us build from disagreement, which is
an important part of what we do. I remember one day Izzy, Chris, Olu, and I had
a debate about faith. It was pretty emotional – with Izzy who is agnostic,
Chris not believing in a higher power, Olu a Muslim, and myself a Christian.
Ordinarily with such different backgrounds, it could’ve been an impossible
discussion to get through. But this is one of the many conversations I cherish
at YIA because it changed me. My core values and belief in Christianity are the
same, but I have a different perspective because now I fully understand all of
their views too. ” The reason her experience caught my attention is because of
the way she discussed how even though she had a certain belief it should not
intervene with having a good friendship with other YIA youth. That she should
still be able to give them the respect they deserve just as she would like to
be respected for what she believes in. Most adults unfortunately do not believe
that youth have the maturity to handle the situation the way Marlie did. I
always knew that youth can become great leaders such as Marlie. Sometimes being
a leader doesn’t always mean that you are in charge it also means that you step
back and look around and see if people are scared of you or respect you. It
means that you have a firm understanding that maybe you are so focused on what
you think that you may be losing out on many opportunities to learn about people’s
culture and what makes them who they are such as youth in Youth in Action.
Find this on YouTube and thought this was pretty cool, simple but straight to the point on how we can help youth feel more empowered where ever they are:
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