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Dear Friends,
In the spring newsletter, we spoke of students, volunteers and the community coming to the table with the expectation that everyone contributes something and everyone takes something away. IMP’s growth from 31 to 79 students and 200+ to 400+ volunteers has challenged all members to embrace one of IMP's core values this summer--a willingness to change. Watching the dynamics unfold was exhilarating, as it was often the students modeling the willingness to change for the volunteers, staff, and even community members.
Change is uncomfortable. By definition it requires us to step outside of our comfort zones and risk failure. It is often the fear of failure itself that is paralyzing. In IMP, we strive to create a safe environment for all members to fail successfully, a critical step in realizing our true potential. In May, we invited IMP students, volunteers, staff and close friends from the community to brainstorm around how IMP could tackle organizational challenges. The results of those collaborative discussions have been instrumental in shaping IMP's path for growth and development in the near future.
A willingness to change also took many shapes when IMP kicked off the summer with the IMP "Kid Summit." As we asked five cohorts of students (ranging from rising high school sophomores to recent college graduates) to introduce themselves, for some, change was defined by the courage to softly state their first name in front of a crowded auditorium. For others like Dhaujee Kelly, cohort one student and recent Bowdoin graduate, change was defined by her seven-year journey from struggling high school student to a young woman on her way to impacting the lives of youth through City Year Los Angeles..
For six weeks this summer, ACCE and Dunbar IMP high school students participated in the Diversity and Academic Advancement Summer Institute (DAASI), a partnership between IMP and the JHU School of Medicine and a Baltimore City YouthWorks site, facilitated by Johns Hopkins Community Impact Interns. Students explored new academic and professional challenges outside of the traditional classroom environment by working in laboratories, offices, and clinics at sites all across Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Instead of falling into the "summer slide," students contributed at job sites by extracting DNA from bacteria, managing health and weight loss solutions, and studying effective interventions for victims of domestic abuse. Tolu, a rising junior who once was failing math, discovered an aptitude for math through his internship and began to visualize a potential career path in finance. He is now planning to start a Future Business Leaders of America chapter at Dunbar.
Rising high school sophomores received an additional two hours of professional development each day through collaborations with community partners who presented seminars on a variety of topics, including how to build resumes, manage stress, and build effective professional and personal relationships. Many of the presenters spoke to several groups of students, allowing their seminars to continually improve throughout the summer. What often began as a general workshop targeted to young professionals, evolved into a highly specific and engaging seminar providing the tools and examples most relevant to our students. In a powerful testament to the dedication of IMP partners, the overwhelming response from presenters and employers was a desire to change and improve, to work with the IMP Family on providing an enriching and fulfilling program for our students.
Following the six weeks of DAASI, students, volunteers and staff embarked on a week- long camping trip to Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation. While camping has been an integral part of the IMP experience for the past seven years, this was the first multi-cohort, multi-site trip. The process of working through challenges together helped to form new bonds and strengthen existing ones. When a group of high school students had a disagreement, it was a rising college sophomore, Eddie, who deescalated the situation by incorporating life lessons he had learned through failing to manage his own anger. What was once Eddie’s weakness had become his strength and in turn the strength of the entire group. When it came time to jump off a cliff into the Susquehanna River, it was high school students Tyler and Miguel who fearlessly made the first jumps and then coached the volunteers, staff, and even Boy Scout rangers through anxiety and fears.
As students and volunteers work together to build enduring relationships that transcend barriers, IMP continues to grow and change. The success of this summer was the confidence gained that while failure will happen, we can both individually and collectively grow in the process. We look forward to a fantastic fall, welcoming more volunteers and partners to join our growing family.
Sincerely,
The IMP Family
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