IOCC teaches youth wide range of leadership skills in summer program

Ayanna Crawford leads an activity for the young people at the Indian Orchard Citizen’s Council’s Summer Leaders Lab.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — Nearly 20 children and teens, ranging in age from elementary school to high school, gathered at the Indian Orchard Citizen’s Council to listen to the day’s guest speaker, Ayanna Crawford.

Crawford is a School Committee member, a small business owner and the chief of staff for state Rep. Orlando Ramos. After she led the group in activities focusing on communication skills, the students excitedly gathered around her for a group selfie.

The citizen’s council kicked off its Summer Leaders Lab program on July 13. The program is designed to instill young people with leadership skills and foster a sense of community. Twenty students registered for the six-week Summer Leaders Lab, which runs for four hours, Monday through Friday.

Citizen’s council leader and City Councilor Zaida Govan designed the curriculum, which includes a different guest speaker every day. Topics range from financial literacy and problem solving to artistic self-expression and a history tour of Indian Orchard. Teacher Keixiza Rodriguez Stutss is a constant presence throughout. She said she had been involved in summer programs before and was excited to get involved in the program.

Rodriguez Stutss said the variety of guests are all providing interactive engagement.

“That’s that thing, is keeping them engaged. You can’t just stand in front of them and talk,” she said. Teaching children leadership skills now will benefit them in the future, Rodriguez Stutss said. “Even with adults, we all get scared to be the first to speak, but you got to get out of your comfort zone,” she said.

The grant-funded program provides the young people with more than education. It also includes a $25 per day stipend. While many of the young people said they would rather be at the program than hanging out all summer, Tanvi Sharma, president of the Indian Orchard Citizen’s Youth Council, said she thinks the stipend is an incentive for a lot of the participants.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for kids to earn something in the summer. It’s a way to become more financially independent and also give them something to do over the summer,” she said.

Kaiden Wray said he did not know about the stipend until he had after the first class. “My grandma saw it on Facebook and enrolled me,” he said. “I think it’s great. We learn. It’s better than any summer camp. I’d rather be doing this. The activities are really fun. The staff are fun. They’re not too strict but they make sure we don’t get out of control.”

But the biggest takeaway may not be the stipend or the leadership skills. It might be the community the young people are creating. Sharma said, “I’m probably most excited about getting to know everyone. Everybody here does different things.”