I was the program coordinator of the MLE program for summer 2021. MLE stands for mentorship, leadership, and experience. Within this program youth from ages, 13-15 attend for 5 weeks. During this, we have guest speakers, relaxed art sessions, website coding, and more! The goal of this program is to have youth gain an understanding. You need to look within yourselves before you can help others.
As you explore this page you’ll be able to get a glimpse of what the youth has been experiencing.
Neurographic Art
This is a practice that allows you to tap into your subconscious through drawing.
Guest Speakers
We’ve had a few guest speakers come and shed their knowledge and experience on the youth!
Sumeya Ali
A self-taught painter, artist, and creator. They’ve been painting since 2015 with a range of mediums from acrylic paint, to watercolor, to oil paint, and collage. She aims to share personal experiences - the lessons I have learned and growing pains she feels
In her art, she explores the language of colors. She creates environments where you can both find and lose yourself, over and over again. Colors like peach and pink, which she uses consistently in her art, urge you to reach out and feel the warmth. Cool tones like blue and purple generate a sense of space, but also detachment.
She regards her art as a sacred practice that is accessible not only to her but to anyone who crosses paths with it. For example, symbols in her work parallel symbols in life that present themselves from conversations with close friends. This communal act is an essential part of her practice.
The Circle
This is an art therapy exercise that I got from Yasmine and her program IABET.
In this exercise, you draw a circle and fill it with whatever colors and mediums you feel. Once you’re finished with the circle you can start your dialogue with these questions:
Part 1
What is your name?
Where have you come from?
Why have you come here?
What have you come to tell me?
Is there anything important I should know about you?
Part 2
What do you need?
What do you want?
What would make you feel happier?
What don’t you want?
Do you feel like you need to give up something to get what you want?
How might you go about meeting that need?
Is there a part of you where this need feels met?
The goal of this exercise is to explore and understand your emotional needs.
One of the topics that we’ve touched on in the program is Restorative Justice this is a presentation that was made by Lily Bufalino.
Some questions that the youth were asked are as follows:
Where do you see this being most effective? Among friends? Justice systems? Even international?
What might the drawbacks be? When does it stop being effective?
What needs to be present for restorative justice to happen?
A few interesting topics came up as a result, such as the death penalty, how America has handled reparations, and more. We also found that restorative justice doesn’t only apply to the criminal justice system. You can apply this concept to internal conflict as well, by providing yourself the tools to reach closure and understanding for yourself.