End of Year Picnic

On Saturday, May 31st we brought together students from each of our 4 school year programs to celebrate the end of the school year and beginning of summer and the PRYSE Academy season!

The day started with presentations from members on our Youth Steering Committee on topics like world affairs, the future of ARYSE, student experiences and feedback, and sharing information on what the Youth Steering Committee is and does at ARYSE. Our members spent 2 meetings preparing for their presentations and we are so proud of them!

Students listen to Youth Steering Committee members' presentations.

Following the presentations, our students and staff went outside to eat lunch, spend time together, and play games like volleyball, soccer, and badminton. We were also so happy to invite the Happy Day Dessert Factory ice cream truck back this year to end the day on a sweet note.

Thank you to all our students, staff, and partners for the amazing school year! We look forward to welcoming back some of our students to PRYSE Academy this summer. Also, thank you to our friends at the University of Pittsburgh for always welcoming us into your spaces.

Students enjoy lunch before playing games.

Program Updates

After School Club

"After School Club wrapped up for the year in May with an end-of-year celebration on Duquesne’s campus. As we look toward the summer ahead, it’s hard to believe that it is almost time to send off the graduating seniors. I am immensely grateful for each of the students that have allowed us to be a part of their journey through high school and can’t wait to see what lies ahead for them.

A special thank you to Dr. Schulze for being an awesome faculty partner, to our interpreters for giving so much of your time to help our students feel welcome, and to our mentors and interns for showing up every session and being fully present in the moment. Most of all though, thank you to the students for making this year a special one!"

-Mike Sirera (he/him). Program Manager

Girls Art and Maker Group

"Our last meeting of the year was bittersweet as we reflected on memories from the year and planned for the summer. We started with conversations around our emotions, goals and habits and got a special zoom visit from Zuly. She was out of town for an opera conference but made sure to show up for the students and share her warmth with everyone. We wrapped up the morning with compliment sharing where all students wrote notes to each other that they can keep and come back to over time.

In the afternoon we were joined by Emmalee from Alex’s Stupid Studio who helped us screenprint a Girls Group special design on tote bags! We had a lot of fun connecting with each other and talking about the next year. I’m excited to keep up with everyone over the summer and proud of all the students that are graduating and getting jobs across the city. Thank you to all the students, volunteers and Zuly for making this an amazing year!"

-Erica Hughes (she/her). Program Manager

Youth Steering Committee

"We spent our last YSC meeting working together to create a presentation for the End of Year Celebration! The idea for the presentation came out of a desire for YSC members to convene and lead a space for students across ARYSE programs to share information with one another and debrief the school year.

Students connect before the final meeting of the school year.

In the afternoon, we celebrated the end of the school year together by eating lunch outside by the river! As this year comes to an end, we feel grateful to all the YSC members who have laid a strong foundation for community and collaboration. We can’t wait to see what we can do together next year! We also want to shout out our amazing Youth Leadership Intern, Chance, and the Boys and Girls Club for hosting us each month in their Downtown Club House!"

One of our YSC members designed shirts to be passed out at the final meeting.

-Meg Booth (she/her), Youth Advocacy and Education Specialist

Post-Secondary Support

"Graduations have begun and students have started depositing and registering for classes next fall in programs like computer science, ultrasound technology, nursing, and psychology! So far, six of our graduating seniors have committed to a college or training program, and eight more will be making their decisions this summer. We are so proud of the students and can’t wait to support them in this next step of their journey.

Looking forward to promoting some opportunities soon for volunteers to work alongside our high schoolers as they continue to explore their post-secondary aspirations. 😀"

-Dakota Rottino-Garilli (she/her), Program Manager

PRYSE Academy

"This past month has flown by as we welcomed PRYSE Academy Co-Directors to the team and continued pushing forward with final preparations for this year’s program.

In addition to the amazing team of Senior and Junior Counselors that will be joining us in June, we have an incredible array of new partners that are sure to elevate the student experience this summer. These folks include Pittsburgh-based educators who focus on English language development, highly talented artist-educators that will be leading creative workshops, and an awesome team of volunteers with hearts of gold.

These next few weeks are sure to be a busy time, but we are so excited to welcome everybody back for another spectacular year of summer programming!"

-Cody Weisel (he/him), Program Manager

May Recap!