Teens
Kids grow up. Then what?
When Husky Sport first began in 2003, our primary engagement within the Hartford community was with elementary school children. As the years passed, we have been fortunate enough to grow our community partnerships and programming. At same time, the young people we came to know so well also grew up to express newfound interests and challenges. Who would have thought?
In collaboration with neighborhood leaders, partners, families, and students, Husky Sport decided to form a program designed around the wants and needs of these young adults. From there, a regular crew of high school and college age students began to meet on a weekly basis. In 2009, the ‘Teens’ program was founded, a cohort of young adults and mentors were formed, and the pillars of Husky Sport’s mission evolved along with the lives of its community members.
For most every teenager, many options are available for entertainment and education. Immediate needs must be addressed, while at the same time making plans for the future. Not many would claim this to be a stress-free time in a young adult’s life, so we won’t either. Still, support systems can be quite helpful as a person makes the transition from youth through adolescence to adulthood.
Points of emphasis with the Teens:
- Mentor/mentee relationships
- Healthy meals preparations
- Sports and physical activity
- Life skills training (i.e., time management, wellness, personal accountability, leadership)
- Academic tutoring
- Colleges visits
- College applications and SAT prep
- Job shadowing
- Career planning and training
- Consistent UConn presence and student development
- Pursuit of happiness
- Evaluation of programming and suggestions for improvement
Job shadowing with Teens:
For a six week period, the Teens focused their attention on learning more about careers. This unit included guest speakers who came to speak about their own experience in the workforce, skits and lessons on acceptable workplace behavior, and personalized career surveys. As a culminating event, students were able to pick a place of employment in which they wanted to spend the day shadowing someone in the community. Students were hosted by an array of willing volunteers, while afforded the opportunity to spend a day in the life of a career professional.
Job sites included; The Burgdorf Clinic (affiliated with St. Francis Hospital), ESPN, The Connecticut Center of Public Health, Athletic Training at the University of Connecticut, and Athletic Counseling at the University of Connecticut.
Click here to view a slideshow of 2011 job shadowing visits.