14th Annual Institute – Reaffirming Youth Impact

Post written by: Learn and Serve – Michigan Team

Last week more than 350 higher education and K-12 teachers, administrators, students, and others came together at The 14^th Annual Institute: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. The Institute is a two-day event recognizing the achievements Michigan has made in service-learning and sharing new ideas and information from the field.

This year’s Institute offered a lot of great opportunities for young people to get involved. Students from local schools in the Traverse City area were invited to join participants at day one’s Opening Plenary as Sam Singh, of Public Policy Associates, talked about his travels around the world and what he learned from his time abroad. After the session the youth participated in a youth-only networking and informational workshop with Sam. They learned how to take meaningful action and how to sustain the work they do for their own causes.

Michigan Community Service Commissioner and Superintendent of the Traverse Bay Intermediate School District Michael Hill spoke at day one’s Lunch Plenary about investing in young people to strengthen our communities. Mike spoke to the crowd not just as someone dedicated to strengthening service in Michigan, but as an educator. Specifically he discussed how relationships between students and teachers fill the gaps in educational policies and help our students achieve greatness.

We also introduced a Youth Track to this year’s Institute, which provided opportunities for young people to learn about everything from leadership styles, to social media strategy, to how to plan meaningful action. Learn and Serve – Michigan’s AmeriCorps*VISTA, Robyn Stegman had the opportunity to spend time with the Youth Track where the young people participating showed dedication and a willingness to learn. The Youth Track was certainly a great addition to the conference and the presence of young faces and bright ideas enhanced the Institute’s experience for all.

This year two of Learn and Serve – Michigan’s Service-Learning Youth Council members lead a workshop on the achievement gap. Youth, as well as adults, attended this session that helped identify the issue and provide great ways young people can get involved to tackle the achievement gap. It was a powerful workshop and will hopefully pave the way to more youth-led sessions at future Institute conferences.

As part of day one’s evening festivities, Learn and Serve – Michigan recognized individuals and programs accomplishing great things in service-learning from across the state. It was a great time to show the world the wonderful work our grantees are doing. During the ceremony awards were given to:

• An Innovative Program Award were given to the Detroit Service Learning Academy for their school’s commitment to excellence in Service-Learning
• An Innovative Program Award was also given to the Environmental Studies Program at Onaway Area Schools.
• A Student Award was given to Ella Kate Wagner from Belding High School who has been active in service-learning since middle school.
• A K-12 Teacher/Practitioner Award was given to Sue Wilson an educator and service-learning champion in Clarkston Community Schools.

To find out more about these wonderful programs click here.

These are only a few highlights from a wonderful two days spent with people from across the state who share our commitment to service-learning. We can only hope the excitement and energy of this year’s Institute resonates beyond two days and charges Michigan with a commitment to service-learning and the amazing impact it has on our youth.