Youth Development Elevator Speech

 

 

The Youth Development program prepares undergraduate students with a profession in the field of education. It offers a Bachelor's degree with a minor or a concentration and a non-profit studies certificate. It prepares college students beyond the educational field to work with young children, teens and young adults in schools and outside of school. Even though Youth Development focuses on Youth work, there is more to it than just that. I reflected on an article that features remarkable stories of twelve youth workers and their stories. The practices and skills that they faced in the field and their everyday lives as youth workers shows and acknowledges not only what they have seen but what they contribute and provided for other young adults. In an article “In Defense of Youth Work, this is Youth Work: Stories from Practice”paragraph one, what is youth work? It quotes that “a commitment to conversations with young people start from their concerns and within which both youth worker and young person are educated and out of which, opportunities for new learning and experience can be created (This is Youth Work).” This is a crucial step in the context of youth work because it helps the workers understand and build a better understanding and relationship with students and young people everywhere. In other words, this is what Youth Development is all about. Making connections and building a relationship with the youth.

 

One of the stories that Caught my attention in particular is called “I wouldn’t be the person I am today ‘: One young man on why young people need youth clubs.” because when young students go through tough times where they feel isolated and have no one to talk to, they can always count on that one person that will always be there for them to talk to either after school or on school activities. This is where Youth workers come in because we have the ability to do beyond what we learn in the field and become a mentor and guidance for the younger crowd. We get to be a guidance’s and helpers to those around us in the educational field and helping programs which is what being a youth worker is all about.