ourvoice, futureand communityA Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth Institute SUMMER 2012 • Volume 12 • Issue 2

WWW.LBYMCAYI.ORG • WWW.CHANGEAGENTPRODUCTIONS.ORG • WWW.YMCACAMBODIAPROJECT.ORG

LONG BEACH YMCA YOUTH INSTITUTE • 525 EAST 7TH STREET • LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA 90813 • (562) 624-5474 • (562) 624-5469

CON

TACT

S

• BOB CABEZA, Vice President of Community Development

email Bob.Cabeza@lbymca.org• LES PETERS, Executive Director of Youth Institute

email Les.Peters@lbymca.org

• BOBBY KLEIN, Operations Director

email Bobby.Klein@lbymca.org• EDDIE GARDINER, College Readiness Director

email Edward.Gardiner@lbymca.org• RON UNG, Logistics Director

email Ron.Ung@lbymca.org

• LEO SALCIDO, Senior Art Director of Change Agent Productions

email Leonard.Salcido@lbymca.org

• BEN CANDEE, Digital Media Artist Change Agent Productions

email Ben.Candee@lbymca.org

in this issue...

• 2012 Summer Youth Institute - my experience • p 2

• My Summer Experience-YI Consultant • p 3

• 1st Annual NationalYI Film Festival • p 4

• A Cultural Experience • p 5• YI Alumni - Where are

they now • p 6-7• Get Connected! Fairs • p 7

• College Readiness - Off to the Bay • p 8

Congraduations to the 2012 New Class for completing the summer Youth Institute (YI) program and becoming YI Alumni. Over 380 youth & 50 staff throughout the state of California and South Dakota have completed the summer Youth Institute program and 13 Film Festivals, Graduations and potluck meals have been shared with youth, family and friends. This summer the Youth Insti-tute has created the most teen produced multi-media content of any program in California and around the US - 90 short films and 14 magazines. This number of teen produced content will double or triple each summer as we get new YI replication sites on board. We are extremely proud of all of our YI Consultants who stepped up and took the challenge to run & manage their own summer Youth Institute program. The YI Consultants took all of their personal experiences and life lessons learned from the Long Beach Youth Institute and planted seeds at the 13 communities they worked at this past summer. Creating Youth Institutes that have their roots from Long Beach and as they grow, develop and envolve they take on the characteristic of their communities. In Long Beach, the YI staff are being groomed and tested to be the next group of consultants, all are incoming college freshman. They have become the perfect role models for our high school age YI Alumni, coming from the same neighorhoods, high schools and many have gone through the same life experiences. Here at the Long Beach YI, we grow our own to be staff then consult-ants and then professional staff. New YI Alumni, Welcome to the family and thanks for participating in the best teen program

in the country. BYLES PETERS

Executive Director of the Youth Institute

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth InstitutePage 2

Starting off as a new class here with no computer skills whatsoever and having to do two main projects that require a lot of computer skills made me worried that I wouldn’t make a good movie or article. That all changed when I went to the wilderness retreat, because I realized we’re not alone we are a team and we help everyone succeed. I liked how they took us out into the wilderness first before we get into the technology, because I think they were right about how we might get overwhelmed with the equipment. Also it was more comforting to know everyone before we had to work together on our assignments, because then we would be too afraid to communicate with each other. After all the fun we had bonding at camp it was time to go home and take a real bath in a shower not in a river and prepare for next weeks training. It actually wasn’t that hard to get used to the computers and the programs after the staff taught us everything we might need to use. Of course we were still allowed to ask for help which made me relieved. In making our movies the first thing we did was storyboarding. Before we did that though they gave us time to prac-tice making a movie by assigning us to do

an object video. All nine groups received an object that was basically the star in our movie. We had to incorporate it into our movie in some way. It was actually harder then it seemed. We all struggled and didn’t come out with the best product, but it made us determined to make a great movie by the end of the summer. Which was ex-actly what happened. We were working so hard on our movies that some people even stayed late or came in on the weekends to work on it. We were all so proud and happy with what we ended up with and you would be amazed that we went from mediocre object movies to outstanding work for our final projects. I know this took a lot of work and determination to make our movie because I am the animator in our group so I had to make a thirty-seven second narration into typography. It was only thirty-seven seconds and it took me weeks to finish it in After Effects. You would first have to make a layout then align the words popping up on the screen the same time the narrator talks, and finally I had to make it 3D. Then I had to place a camera in to make it follow the words as they pop up with the voice over. It was a lot of work but worth it in the end getting to see everyone’s movies on

a big screen to show off our skills to our parents, family members and friends. I’m proud to say I was able to learn something most of the new class, alumni and staff don’t know about, anima-tion, and do pretty well for my first time. For the typography in our movie I taught myself how make it in After Effects I even-tually had to get help from one the senior staff who knew After Effects very well. His name was Leo Salcido and he was able to have some time to sit down and teach me how to do typography in After Effects. I’m grateful for him teaching me and happy to know he liked my finished product. It took a lot of effort but it was worth it in the end to know that I have mastered a skill many people haven’t and I can’t wait to come back to become alumni and learn more. I would say this summer was one of the best because I feel as if I didn’t waste my summer doing nothing but instead learned skills that will benefit me in the future.

YOUTH INSTITUTEMy Experience in the

BYDANIELA B.

YI CLASS OF 2012

There is nothing more empowering or terrifying than knowing that you will have made a difference not only to a group of youth, but an entire community. This opportunity was pre-sented to me when Bob informed Angel and I that we were being flown to South Dakota to help start a Youth Institute program in Rapid City. I felt like I already knew enough of the program beforehand that I would not have trouble doing this, but I was surprised by how much more I still had to learn through teaching others. When the program started, right away Angel and I real-ized that none of the staff knew what they were doing, and they looked up to us to guide them. This meant that our coworkers as well as our youth thought of us as role models, as actual represen-tations of what the Youth Institute is all about. I had to be careful with how I presented myself, and how I taught the youth because we needed to make sure they were learning the proper skills to move forward. The youth were so inspiring - they always finished their work at a rapid pace, and we had to come up with more projects just to keep them satisfied. Running a program is a totally different ball game than just being a staff at the Long Beach Youth Institute. I had to grow up, and be a leader, especially the last few weeks when Angel left, because we had to finish films, the magazine and get ready for graduation. I had to stay late, work after hours and constantly make sure we had everything in order and on time. My cowork-ers were eager to lend a helping hand, and this was great because that way they could learn hands-on what they should do next year. Running a program taught me a lot about giving and not expecting anything else. I was self-less because I want this pro-gram to succeed and believe it will, thanks to the youth, parents, amazing staff and the entire Y community in beautiful Rapid City, South Dakota.

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth Institute Page 3

BYLILIANA BURGOSYI CLASS OF 2008

BYPRISMA BRACHOYI CLASS OF 2007

My Experience as a

YOUTH INSTITUTECONSULTANT

I have always been honored to be able to say that I am a part of the Youth Institute. I started going to the Youth Institute in 2007 and kept going even though I wasn’t in the program because I loved the environment and the staff. I became alumni in 2008 and staff in 2010 for the high School Youth Institute and middle school Youth Institute in 2011. I believed that I was done with the new experiences and that I would stay at the middle school site for the summer of 2012. I soon found myself working along side Eddy Mendoza at Century THINK Together in Santa Ana as Youth Institute Consultant. At first, I was scared of failure. Being only 19 years old, I never thought that I would be given so much responsibility let alone succeed. Never before had I ran a program without any higher ups looking over my shoulders at all times. The pres-sure that I felt was immense, I was going to be in charge of creating the same bond with the kids that I once felt in 2007 that made me keep coming back to the YI. All the nervousness and thoughts of failure went away as soon as we started doing the team building activities with the youth. Seeing how they interacted with one another and how excited they were for the summer made me realize that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. This summer has to be my most favorite. All with the most amazing people. From teaching the youth programs and filming to debating what movie we would watch during lunch, every second spent with them has been memorable. Running our own program this summer, I realized how important com-munication and teamwork was and how lucky I was to be working with such great staff that showed their full support and dedication to the youth. Knowing that Bob, Les, Leo and Bobby were just a call away was also great because I knew that if we ever needed help or questioned ourselves, that they would be there to help us out. An experience that I first feared turned into one that I will never forget and can’t wait to do again.

On Sunday, August 26, 2012 the Long Beach Youth Institute (YI) hosted the 1st Annual National Youth Institute Film Festi-val. Over 280 youth and staff from all 13 replication site were in attendance to compete against each other for “Best Picture.” Each site showcased their two best films from the summer for Middle School and High School (new class and alumni). It was a difficult decision for our panel of expert judges to select 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Each of the winners would received an award - one for the agency and individual ones for each member of the production group. It was an amazing event CEO’s of YMCA’s, Executive Directors of CBO’s, YMCA Board Members and Foundation representatives where in attendance for this momentous occasion. We are all ready planning for next year to be even larger with the possibility of more Youth Institute replication sites coming on board.

Please visit the website below to view the National YI short films.www.youtube.com/user/YMCAYI/

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth InstitutePage 4

Rapid City Youth Institute Delagation - Rapid City, South Dakota Berkeley Youth Institute Alumni - Berkeley, California

East LA Youth Institute Staff - L. David, M. Ron (LBYI), R. Manny - East LA, California

THINK Together Youth Institute - Bill and Founder of Youth Institute - Bob

NATIONAL YOUTHINSTITUTE

F I L M F E S T I V A L • L O N G B E A C H , C A

Middle School YI1st - Cambria YI • San Luis Obispo, CA.

2nd - Stephens YI • Long Beach, CA.3rd - Stephens YI • Long Beach, CA.

High School YI • New Class1st - Berkeley YI • Berkeley, CA.2nd - East LA YI • East LA, CA.

3rd - Long Beach YI • Long Beach, CA.

High School YI • Alumni1st - Long Beach YI • Long Beach, CA.2nd - Long Beach YI • Long Beach, CA.

3rd - East Palo Alto YI • East Palo Alto, CA.

2012 FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS

2012 High School YI Alumni Winners

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth Institute Page 5

When I was first told that the YMCA was hosting a group of Ecuadorean and Colombian teenagers and their respective chaperones, I was honestly terrified. I come from a Filipino background and I don’t know an ounce of Spanish. ‘How will I talk to them?’ ‘How will they understand what I’m saying? ‘Will they even try to talk to me?’ These questions ran miles and miles throughout my mind. It didn’t seem like this would be my kind of thing, but I figured I might as well find out. When I came to the YMCA on the group’s first day, the questions constantly beckoned at me, demanding my attention and tormented me as I hiked up the stairs. I walked into the room and introduced myself in English, not knowing what I was doing. To my sur-prise, the group tried their best to communicate back. There were a few who spoke English and Spanish. They greeted me first. In a way it gave me a sense of comfort knowing that I was not in this struggle alone. The day went on as we toured around Los Angeles and other nearby hotspots. We visited Griffith Park Observa-tory, drove throughout Hol-lywood, and enjoyed the rest of the day in Venice Beach. The

Ecuadoreans and Colombians experienced a whole new world, as back in their homelands the landscape was completely different than that of Southern California. Even with the com-munication barrier, I managed to talk to everyone in one form or another. By the end of their adventure, we became emotion-ally attached and didn’t want the others to leave. Flashing memories of my thoughts prior to meeting them seemed foolish as now I, and the other alumni of the YMCA, could not just let them leave as we created a group of friends within the week. This tour of Los Angeles gave them a whole new perspective of the world around them and also spiked their imagination of even more distant and distinct countries than the United States. This trip as a whole also broke cultural & communication barriers. This journey proved to the Ecuado-reans, Colombians and to I, that these barriers will only keep us apart as much as we let them.

BYJON C

YI CLASS OF 2011

A Cultural Experience

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth InstitutePage 6

BYABE GUTIERREZYI CLASS OF 2006

BYKELLY REM

YI CLASS OF 2003

My name is Kelly Rem. I am 24 years old and currently reside here, in Long Beach, California. Ever since being a part of the Youth Institute, I have been working 2 jobs and attend-ing California State University Long Beach as a full time student. I am pursuing my Bachelors degree as an aspiring Kinesiology Major, option in Fitness. I am very passionate about healthy living and lifestyles, as well as inspiring others to do the same. As a Fitness major, we’re an ex-tremely positive message and role model to others and I couldn’t be more happier to be a part of such a movement. What I love most about Fitness is that it teaches us self discipline, to be very goal oriented and challenges us to be our best and bring out our best. It teaches us good charac-ter, to be focused, to have drive, and we even begin to discover things about ourselves we never knew we were capable of doing. When we develop strong bodies, we develop strong minds. After I complete my Bachelors in Kinesiology, option in Fitness, I want to pursue a career as a Chiropractor. I plan to attend SCUHS, School of Health Sciences, and pursue my Doctorates of Chiropractic. Being a part of Chiropractic has changed my life and opened my eyes to a whole new world. Your spine is your backbone, which supports the whole entire body and is also the powerhouse for sending messages effectively throughout your body. Chiropractic focuses on positive messages and healthy living. What would you be without your backbone? With Chiropractic, your overall health and well being is improved. Chiropractic is the true definition of health and healing. My passion for Fitness and healthy living has made me become who I am today. Sending out a positive message is the main goal. At the moment, I’ve been helping with Spinal Screenings with my doctor’s practice at city events. I have been training for my first half mara-thon which will take place in October at the Long Beach Marathon, and I am also currently working on my certification to becoming a Cardio Kickboxing instructor. I want to inspire, motivate and empower people to believe in themselves and know that they are capable of doing anything. Strive and push yourself to be the best, and that you will be. Find greatness within yourself.

Though I am only in California for very brief increments, I never miss an opportunity to go out for drinks, fish, golf, or grab lunch with the amazing friends I have made and grown with through the Youth Institute. That being said, the time I get to spend in California and Long Beach in particular has been very limited, as col-lege and internships and trying to figure out how to live independently and be a functional member of society has proved to be quite a time consuming and stress inducing endeavor. I am currently entering my senior year at New York University, as a double major in finance and marketing, with a minor in mathematics. Although my path to senior year has definitely had its bumps along the way, I could not be happier with my selection of subjects to study or the institution to do said studies. The quantitative rigor of both finance and mathematics complement the qualitative nature of marketing, providing me with

a holistic view of the corporate world. After a slew of internships, most recently an investment banking summer analyst position at UBS Investment Bank in New York City, I am confident that the financial services industry is exactly where I want to be. I haven’t quite figured out where in financial services—whether it be in invest-ment banking and corporate finance, or something at the asset level like structured finance. I could not have asked for a better quality of education to prepare me for whatever career path I may undertake. I recently made the decision that I will be applying for graduate school, where I hope to get a Master of Science in Financial Mathematics. Since I started college, I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, study abroad in the Czech Republic for four and a half months, held various internships at some of the most prominent and powerful financial institu-tions in the world, joined a fraternity, got

my first apartment, and built up quite the cache of great stories afforded to me by these experiences that I will tell and retell for the rest of my life. That doesn’t go to say that the past few years did not involve their fair share of nights where I spent quite liter-ally all night studying for an exam. Times where I wondered if all of this pain and effort was worth it, and times where the fragileness of intellectual self-esteem was fully realized. With graduation just around the corner, my fellow class of 2013 graduates and I will be greeted with a hos-tile job market, economic and political un-certainty, and in the midst of flux of social and cultural values. And although it does in fact sound fairly bleak and depressing, we’re tough, we’ve grown up in difficult times already, and we are well-prepared to face the challenges that await us and are poised to take over and be the leaders of our generations.

MY PASSION

LEADERS OF OUR GENERATION

A Newsletter of the Long Beach YMCA Youth Institute Page 7

BYBOBBY KLEIN, YI Operations Director

BYLORNA KHENSOUVANN

YI CLASS OF 2005

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology on March 24, 2012 from Drexel University, which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The reason I gradu-ated in the March instead of June is because I completed my degree a quarter early. I am now attending graduate school at Drexel University College of Medicine to work on a Master of Science degree in Molecular Medicine. Considering my classes are in the evening, I am currently search-ing for a research technician job to gain experience in my field. One day I hope to become a research scientist to study diseases or disorders as well as developing therapeutics. After I complete my mas-ter’s degree, I plan to apply for PhD programs in pharmacology. My goal before I apply for PhD programs is to gain an extraordinary amount of re-search experience in such a way that I feel fully confident to design my own experiments. Experience becomes extremely important after college. Maintaining my GPA, volunteering, and interning were beneficial to me after I graduated college. I still have a long road ahead of me, and I plan to keep working hard until I have reached all my goals.

Doctor Khensouvann?

This summer our California replication sites were given the task to put on a Get Connected Fair for each of their Communities. This fair gave each Youth Institute New Class the opportunity to share their newly acquired knowledge about technology and teach families the benefits of having a broadband internet connection. Each site completed their fair during that last two weeks of their Youth Institute Summer Program. We were able to teach this valuable information to over 500 families across the state of California. Youth In-stitute participants eagerly give back to their community through service-learning projects like this one and they will continue to do so through out the year. They understand the old proverb, “To those who have been given much, much will be expected”.

GET CONNECTED!

WWW.LBYMCAYI.ORG • WWW.CHANGEAGENTPRODUCTIONS.ORG • WWW.YMCACAMBODIAPROJECT.ORG

BYDASIRE’E NORMAN

YI CLASS OF 2008C o l l e g e R e a d i n e s s

LONG BEACH YMCAYOUTH INSTITUTE525 East 7th St • Long Beach, CA 90813

YOUTH INSTITUTE CALENDARSEPTEMBER 25HS Seniors College ReadinessMeeting • 4-5p

OCTOBER 27 College ReadinessCollege visits • Cal Poly Pomona

NOVEMBER 16-18Cross-Cultural Trip• Minneapolis-St. PaulYMCA

DECEMBER 21 YI Holiday Party4:30-6p

OCTOBER 2Financial Aid & FAFSATraining • 9-12p

East Bay sounds like a world away now as I count down the days and the hours until my departure. There is anticipation and excitement when I think about my next great journey. During my entire high school career, I’ve wanted to move away and find independence outside my comfort zone. I knew I wanted to help people and work with art. I knew that it meant for me to go away for school to find happiness and sense of pride for myself. I think I was first introduced into traveling with the Youth Institute at an early age visitings various places. We visited places throughout California such as: San Diego to San Francisco, mountain to valleys to oceans. I knew that I could not stay seeded in my own community. I wanted to expand my horizons and learn first hand what it means to rise against the odds. Will my first year be easy? No. But will I adjust? Yes. I know that I have a long road ahead of me, but I know I have a large group of people behind me who are always supportive. What ever I decide to become, I know the Youth Institute has taught me to be proud of what I become and that whatever I do can take me anywhere. Six hours away may seem a bit of a stretch but the distance is well worth going.

Off to the Bay

Long Beach Youth Institute Post-Secondary Education FACTS:

• 98% YI Alumni high school graduation rate, compared to 64% LBUSD• 98% 1st Generation College Student - YI Alumni

• 95% YI Alumni College Attendance, compared to 36% LBUSD• Career Fields - Medical, Nursing, Engineering, Aero-Space, Education, Computer Science, Business, Graphic Design, Film, Social Work, Biology, Art Education, Political Science, Communications

OCTOBER 1YI Tech TutorBegins

NOVEMBER 20YI Holiday Dinner4:30-6p