May 2026 Recap
Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative Community Celebration
During the last week of May, our team and several of our students were honored to be the first recipients of the Student-Centered Practice Award at the Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative Community Celebration! At ARYSE, we are proud to be student-centered and know our students' voices are essential to ensure our work is aligned with their wants, needs, and goals. We are so honored to work alongside students.
Our youth media cohort, ARYSE Storytellers, share a video from the interview workshop with Public Source.
Before being presented with this award, our youth media cohort, the ARYSE Storytellers, were uplifted as they shared their experiences, skills learned, and creations with all attendees. We are so proud of our Storytellers for showcasing the joy that is student-led collaboration, and to Erica for exuding what it means to be student-led with this cohort.
Thank you to A+ Schools and the Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative for recognizing our team - we appreciate your work and collaboration!
ARYSE staff and students pose for a photo with our Student-Centered Practice award.
Program Updates
After School Club
"After School Club successfully wrapped up another year! Our last session was filled with emotion as we sent off the seniors with our best wishes. Students gathered at the office to share in a meal, and one of the seniors read a message they’d written to express their gratitude for the program and encouragement for the underclassmen. After getting our fill of cupcakes, we went to Point State Park to hang out and take some pictures.
Two students watch the fountain at Point State Park.
It’s hard to believe another year has come to an end, but I can’t help but be excited to see what lies ahead for the students we’re sending off. A huge thank you to the volunteers that make the program possible, Dr. Schulze for being an amazing program partner, and of course, the wonderful students for allowing us to be a part of their lives!"
-Mike Sirera (he/him), Program Manager
Girls Art and Maker Group
"For our last session of Girls Group, we held a cozy indoor picnic! The rain couldn’t stop us from having a warm space of connection and games. We were visited by Karen Lue, a talented film photographer (and amazing board member) who took portraits of all the students. We are so grateful to Karen for capturing the personalities of each student and bringing her bright energy into the space! To finish up the day everyone helped finish up our quilting and mosaic project, these communal projects will be displayed in our ARYSE office.
This year I’ve learned more about each student and learned more about how to create a collaborative environment with them all. I am so grateful for all of their time, knowledge and effort. Over this summer I’ll work closely with a Girls Group Intern to work on our new Maker Space and plan engaging activities for the coming school year. I can’t wait to continue this work in meaningful ways. Thank you to our volunteers, to our partners, and of course to our students."
-Erica Hughes (she/they), Program Manager
Youth Steering Committee
""We spent the last day of YSC at Saturday Light Brigade (SLB) Radio! We learned about audio and podcasting as a method of public communication and practiced recording our own interviews together! In ARYSE’s Blog last month, members of the YSC wrote about leadership and reflected on their own leadership journeys. At SLB, we brought that blog to life through recording interviews in which members talked more in depth with one another about what leadership means to them.
Three YSC members interview each other about leadership in a recording booth.
Afterwards, we walked over to City of Asylum to celebrate the end of the year together! During our celebration, we honored 5 seniors who will graduate from high school and from ARYSE programs this year! We thanked them for their community service to ARYSE as leaders, always sharing their ideas, talents, time, and skills with us to make ARYSE spaces more positive for all students.
Thank you to everyone who supported the YSC program this year: Chance, Nargis, ARYSE staff, community partners, and most importantly, the members who brought such curiosity, energy, humor, and openness to every meeting!"
Three of the seniors in YSC wearing their cords (from left to right): Fahima, Sadaf, and Reol.
- Meg Booth (she/her), Youth Education and Advocacy Specialist
Post-Secondary Support
"While the rest of our school-year programs come to an end, Post-Secondary Support has just a few events remaining as our students finish up their senior year! In the month of May, we had some amazing opportunities to connect with members of the community–from Habib Sorosh, a film scholar at CMU who shared with students about his time as a professor in Afghanistan before resettling in the U.S.; to Leslie Shampaine, filmmaker of the documentary Call Me Dancer; to partners at Dollar Bank, PHEAA, the Pittsburgh Promise, Pittsburgh Tomorrow, the POISE Foundation, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Urban Education, who helped us end our financial empowerment series with a bang.
At different events, students got to hear the story of Manish Chauhan, a young man from Himachal, India who fought the odds to be recognized as a dancer, and imagine how they might face their own challenges along their journeys after high school–whether those obstacles might be criticisms of their aspirations, financial stressors, or navigating new academic environments.
I’m so grateful to our students and our partners for continuing to make the program what it is, and for always thinking about how to improve things for the students we’ll serve in the future!"
-Dakota Rottino-Garilli (she/her), Program Manager
PRYSE Academy
"The countdown to PRYSE Academy is on, and excitement is building as we prepare for an incredible summer ahead! We recently visited West Mifflin and Fox Chapel to share information about PRYSE and support student enrollment, while continuing our valued partnership with Holy Family and welcoming their students into the program.
We are also excited to welcome our new Co-Directors, whose leadership and vision will help guide PRYSE into another successful season. With PRYSE just around the corner, our focus is on finalizing and implementing our two-week training program for counselors and junior counselors. This training will prepare our staff to create a safe, supportive, and engaging environment where students can learn, grow, and thrive throughout the summer.
Our 2026 PRYSE Academy Leadership (from left to right): Parag, Sayed, Leah, Megan, and Amya.
We are looking forward to welcoming our students, strengthening existing partnerships, and continuing to expand the impact of PRYSE Academy in our communities!"
-Parag S. Gohel (he/him), Program Manager
