{"id":9837,"date":"2015-10-21T04:00:30","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/?p=9837"},"modified":"2015-10-22T15:21:32","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T22:21:32","slug":"youmedia-alumni-give-back-to-program-with-spirited-summer-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/youmedia-alumni-give-back-to-program-with-spirited-summer-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"YOUmedia Alumni Give Back to Program with Spirited Summer Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lollapalooza might be known for bringing hordes of young people outdoors to celebrate summer in Chicago, but June\u2019s Teens in the Park Fest (TIP Fest)<\/a> gave it a run for its money. TIP Fest was one part free concert, one part open house for Chicago\u2019s array of summer youth programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a fun event to get teens out to make them aware of everything different organizations around the city were offering during the summer, whether that be just drop-in programming like the library has or intensive types of programming or internships,\u201d said Julie Koslowsky of the Chicago Public Library. Organizations set up information booths around the festival grounds, on the city\u2019s Northerly Island, interspersed among food trucks and live music.<\/p>\n

TIP Fest was a joint effort of Chicago City of Learning<\/a>, the Chicago Park District<\/a> (which always hosts a summer kick-off event), and YOUmedia<\/a>. The latter is a digital space for teens at the Harold Washington Library Center where they can drop in to experiment with digital tools, making, and creative collaboration. The space was created in 2009 with the Digital Youth Network<\/a> and support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and has since expanded \u00a0to other Chicago library branches and, through a partnership with the Institute for Museum and Library Services,<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0libraries around the country. The idea is to provide mentors to teens and help them become not just consumers of media, but creators as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Chance<\/a>

Chance the Rapper performs at TIP Fest. Photo\/ Kevin Stepanek, Chicago Park District<\/p><\/div>\n

The space offers, for example, a state-of-the-art sound studio where teens can record their music, workshops on graphic design, and laptops and video equipment available for checkout in addition to the usual books and music. In 2015 alone, Chicago\u2019s 12 YOUmedia library locations have received over 24,000 visits.<\/p>\n

YOUmedia was tapped to bring teens to TIP Fest and engage them in summer opportunities. Part of the job was made easy thanks to Chance the Rapper and Malcolm London. The popular Chicago-based performers are YOUmedia alumni. Between national tours<\/a> and TED Talks<\/a>, they have remained heavily involved with the program.<\/p>\n

After a deeply beloved YOUmedia staff member\u2014performer, poet, and activist Brother Mike Hawkins<\/a>\u2014died last year, Chance and Malcolm, two of his many mentees, hosted an \u201copen mike\u201d in his honor, which became a popular series. The YOUmedia graduates also curated and performed at TIP Fest, drawing thousands of young fans and securing a surprise performance by rapper Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>\n

Chance and Malcolm might be the most high-profile alumni to give back to the YOUmedia community, but they are hardly the only ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlumni are still excited about their experience, and they want to come back and see the program grow and work with the students,\u201d said Jennifer Steele, YOUmedia coordinator. Some alumni return as interns, and the staff is piloting a more formal program to place alums in leadership roles.<\/p>\n

So what is it about YOUmedia that encourages young people who have aged out of the program to come back? Mostly the special community, said Koslowsky, one of the program\u2019s coordinators. The space provides a supportive environment for teens who might not thrive in a school setting. They are encouraged to pursue their interests, developing skills like 3D printing, storytelling, video editing, and performance that can become career or educational paths.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s about empowerment,\u201d said Steele. A poet, she has worked at YOUmedia since its conception, watching as many classes come to embody the values of community and self-advocacy.<\/p>\n

YOUmedia alumni say they build strong bonds in the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have this cool technology, but we also have people that care about you and want to see you succeed,\u201d Koslowsky said. \u201cThat\u2019s a huge reason why we are successful. A lot of mentors have ongoing relationships with folks, and they check back in after they age out of the space just to update us on what they\u2019re doing and any issues they\u2019re having, but also to share their successes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, celebrity endorsements don\u2019t hurt when it comes to putting YOUmedia on the map or inspiring alumni to stay engaged.<\/p>\n

After Chance announced he would be performing at the free show, 9,000-plus TIP Fest tickets were snatched up within 48 hours. Many Chance followers traveled from out of state to attend. What resulted was \u201ccrazy chaotic mayhem,\u201d in the best way possible, said Park District Director of Marketing Michelle Geddes. Northerly Island was thronged with screaming fans. And before the show started, they perused the offerings from the Park District, the library, and a huge variety of community organizations\u2014all dedicated to keeping teenagers engaged during the summer.<\/p>\n

Plans are in the works for TIP Fest number two.<\/p>\n

Photo\/ Robert Davis, A YOUmedia Chicago Participant<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YOUmedia Chicago and well-known alumni\/performers—Chance the Rapper and Malcolm London—attract youth to Teens in the Park Fest (TIP Fest), a celebration with live music that also featured Chicago\u2019s array of summer youth programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[397],"tags":[87,451,269],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9837"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9837"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10083,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9837\/revisions\/10083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}