February Recap!
Students and staff at our annual ice skating field trip in Downtown Pittsburgh.
2024 Moonshot Grant Recipients
We're excited to finally share that we received the Moonshot Grant from Remake Learning! This grant supports the work Erica introduced to the ARYSE team last year and implements what she learned through her Masters of Library Sciences: Counter-Storytelling Librarianship.
The Moonshot Grant asks educators and organizations to think boldly about what they envision the future to look like, and at ARYSE, we know a bold future includes our students and their stories. Counter-storytelling librarianship is a tool to support our students to resist myths and narratives about themselves and their communities by sharing resources with them and examining the power narratives hold.
One of the ways we have begun to implement counter-storytelling in our work is our Instagram series "Erica Reads". In this series, Erica highlights authors and stories that challenge dominant, and often false, narratives. For more information on counter-storytelling and what this will look like at ARYSE, follow our Instagram where we will be sharing information: @aryse_pgh.
Erica holding Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, the second book highlighted in our "Erica Reads" series.
Program Updates
After School Club
"February was an exciting month at After School Club. This semester we are welcoming many new volunteers from Dr. Schulze’s Politics of Immigration class, and each new mentor has been enthusiastic and awesome with the students.
We’ve spent our activity days this month working through a block of programming focused on job searching and are just beginning our transition to March’s theme of exploring post-secondary opportunities. With March on the horizon, it's crazy to think the end of the year is just a few months away!"
Volunteer-mentors lead mock interviews with students.
-Mike Sirera (he/him). Program Manager
Girls Art and Maker Group
"We welcomed the Spring season with a great gathering of students in our March meeting at the Center for Creativity. We had a smaller group which allowed us to have more in depth conversation and hands-on learning. In the morning, Zuly led us in a session around storytelling, including tips on telling our story, asking others questions and using short-form videos as a storytelling tool!
Students pose for a photo before Zuly's performance.
In the afternoon we made phone charms and bracelets before making our way to “An Afternoon of Sopranos” at First Unitarian Church. Zuly Inirio, our continuing artist partner and board member, gave an amazing performance at the show that students were happy to attend. Thanks as always to the students and people that make this possible!"
-Erica Hughes (she/her). Program Manager
Youth Steering Committee
"This month, we took a trip to the Hill District to visit the August Wilson House! We learned more about the histories of the Black community in the Hill, which was central in many August Wilson plays. Executive Director Denise Turner and actor-historian-writer-educator Wali Jamal Abdullah spoke on community issues such as city development projects that have displaced local residents from the neighborhood, as well as community members like Martin Delaney whose stories are often excluded from what we learn in schools.
We were also grateful to spend the day learning more about one another and our visions for our work together as the YSC. Looking forward to all that March holds!"
-Meg Booth (she/her), Youth Advocacy and Education Specialist
Post-Secondary Support
"Home visits and post-secondary office hours at After School Club and local schools have been underway, and I can’t wait to keep working with our seniors to plan toward their future goals! As the acceptance letters roll in, we’re scheduling campus visits to a number of universities, trade schools, and job training programs in the Pittsburgh area."
-Dakota Rottino-Garilli (she/her), Program Manager
PRYSE Academy
"We are thrilled to share that seasonal employment opportunities are now open for PRYSE, and that we have welcomed an amazing former counselor and longtime volunteer to our leadership team as the Operations Coordinator! Planning and preparation for our summer program are now in full swing, and with that comes exciting confirmations of all the new offerings we will be debuting.
While we won’t reveal everything just yet, I am delighted to share that we will have a team of certified ESL teachers at PRYSE to lead daily English lessons, a field trip to one of Pittsburgh’s most beautiful attractions, and an amazing roster of workshop options. I look forward to meeting with all of our PRYSE applicants soon and cannot wait to be in the sunshine with everyone this summer!"
-Cody Weisel (he/him), Program Manager
Introducing our Communications and Social Media Intern
Earlier this month we announced that we hired Fatmata as our Communications and Social Media Intern!
Fatmata first joined ARYSE in 2017 as a student at PRYSE Academy and continued as a student until 2019. In 2022, she returned as a Counselor-in-Training (CIT), assisting counselors and supporting students like herself. From 2022 to 2023, she served as a member of our Youth Steering Committee.
We are happy to have Fatmata back as a part of the ARYSE team!
