Opening to Love

At 9 years old, I was told I would be moving in with my grandparents. I was upset, confused, and grieving for my old home upstate in the mountains, regardless of how unsafe and unstable it was. I resented my grandparents for not being my biological parents. My grandparent’s old school parenting style where emotions […]

Isael’s reflections on life after YASI

Life after YASI is unreal. I have had lots of accomplishments and breakthroughs as I headed back to school at the High School of Economics and Finance. I’ve been busy with clubs, preparation for college, competitions, and getting to figure out what to do with the knowledge I’ve obtained with my time at the Youth […]

YASI 2018’s Code-Switching Externship & Campaign

By Sonia Gurcharran, YASI ’18 S.W.I.T.C.H. Something. We. Intend. To. Change. Here. For our externship this summer, my group – Tahirih (Branch), Omar (Martir), Mamadou (Yattassaye) and I – started a code-switching awareness campaign. We were looking to find out if people know what code-switching is and how it affects people, in any way, regardless if they […]

Rickey: I Am A Doctor

As we approach the start of YASI ’18 we hope you’ll join us in looking back at some of last summer’s exciting activities, including an impressive spoken word piece by Ricky Strahan (YASI ’17). This amazing poem was performed at YASI’s youth summit entitled Brooklyn’s Health: An Unseen Priority on August 9, 2017. Enjoy the […]

Zamani: Reflections on Neglect

The following is a poem written by Zamani Ackie-Davis (YASI ’17) reflecting on his experience speaking with residents of a homeless shelter outside the New Lots Library in East New York, Brooklyn. Zamani met these individuals while staffing a YASI help desk during YASI 2017. When you’re on your daily commute Wearing a nice tie […]

Kadidiatou: Four Years Later

College. For the past 4 years of my high school career, the word has been held over my head like a warning. Walking in on my first day of high school, I was assured that in 1,459 days’ time I would be prepared for the expectations and responsibilities that attending a higher institution of learning […]

Nafi: SATs, Youth Fellows and Conferences

Hello everyone! Over the past few days I have been busy with school, the SAT and so much more, but I love to just relax here and there with a couple my friends. Of course I try my best to make time for everything! School has been tough. It’s stressful especially with the SAT coming […]

Youth Advocacy Corps