One Million Youth, One Million Stories

Devonte Howliet
El Cuarto Ano High School

Setting the goal of reaching one more million young people, and helping them get re-connected to school and work, agitates the mind.  Andrew Moore wrote about how to do it with what we have in place, and I started thinking about voter registration. Opportunity Nation is trying to make it easier for employers to engage in multiple ways.  When I saw these student testimonials at the Youth Connection Charter School, I started thinking: One million youth? One million stories!

Why not?  What if every youth program had student testimonials in which they tell their story (I love how the young people say what didn’t work for them at their previous schools), who helped them, and what they were going to do next? What if every youth that was re-connecting joined LinkedIn, and we had a way to identify them and all the people that helped them? I’m not so great at coming up with dynamic names, but what about the "P & G Team", for perseverance and grit. You get the idea.  What if every profile linked to a video testimonial of a student telling their story and what they want to do next?

What if employers asked during interviews for professional jobs, how many P&G Youth have endorsed you for mentoring?