We recently celebrated the second outgoing Fellows cohort in true 12+ fashion – gathered in the living room of our CEO’s home, surrounded by food, flowers, and photos to remind us of the year. Congratulations to each of you Fellows for the completion of the Fellows Initiative! You have had countless conversations with students, shared innumerable stories, and filled many rooms with laughter. Whether you are moving on to opportunities near (as close as within 12+) or far (across the country), you will always have a home in Philly at 12+. 

Where will they be next? Read on for details, final reflections, and advice to future Fellows!

ALEX -- University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration

This experience also allowed me to re-affirm what my strengths are and not second guess them. I am a developer. I am a counselor and healer. I am an educator. These are the things I am taking away from this year and I will forever be proud of being a part of 12+.

JULIA -- Visit Center Coordinator in Communications and Marketing at Drexel University

It has been a roller coaster of a year and a great learning experience. I believe that this Fellowship has and will help me with any future career...Getting to know the students and seeing them grow and mature throughout the year has been a humbling and wonderful experience.

DUSTIN -- Harvard Graduate School of Education; Technology, Innovation and Education

12+ isn’t just at the frontlines fighting the disparity in public education. 12+ is in the homes and hearts of the Penn Treaty and Kensington Health Sciences community. Our names will be written onto the memories of our students...We are counselors, mentors, brothers, mothers to these students, invited to pool parties and introduced to baby siblings, whispered secrets.  

AELITA -- Staying with 12+!

You come in and you want to help, and sometimes it takes a moment of conflict to learn that to help is not to do, or to attempt to live a life that is not yours to live. You are just a visitor in our students’ lives, so listen and support, but do not presume to know. 

JAZZMIN -- Admissions Officer, Pomona College

Improvisation was a big part of supporting our students. Many situations we had puzzled even experts in things like financial aid or college access and it meant that we sometimes had to be creative and okay with ambiguity. Our students are complex, sometimes difficult, but always worth it, and I think this experience threw me into figuring out how to best help them overcome at least some of the obstacles on their way through high school and into a postsecondary track. 

CHRISTINE -- Staying with 12+!

Every point throughout the year can be a learning opportunity. If you let your pride get in the way, it often times leaves you discouraged and frustrated. But humility, grace, and perseverance helps you not only breakthrough perceived barriers, but also to build your own confidence as you make strides forward. As I look back on this year, although there are things I think I could’ve done better, the only things that stay at the forefront of my memories are the times of laughter, closeness, and victories that I experienced with my team and my students. It reminds me that at the end of the day it’s not about me, but the students we serve, and moving forward, I know that this year has only better prepared me for the year(s) to come.

Advice from the Fearful

The seniors at Kensington are graduating in 5 weeks, and I have been thinking of what I can say to them; of what I can ask of them before they leave.

This is all that I am sure of, and from here I will make my request:

Vulnerability, honesty, and compassion make us human.

~

There are invisible walls that we build around ourselves, as protection, and as a remedy to fear; fear of dismissal, fear of failure, fear of genuine self-reflection. They separate us from realities that we do not want to face, and from all those who call into question the perfect image that we wish to project. Walls that are meant for protection however, will only end up isolating.

You will feel your flaws anyway. You will be afraid anyway. Not because you’re doing something wrong, not because you are not smart enough, or attractive enough, or eloquent enough, but because we live in a world of unknowns, and you will always have questions. You will be afraid, and in being afraid you will be amongst the 7.2 billion people worldwide: people who are afraid to go home, people who are afraid to leave home, people who are afraid of taking a step forward for fear that there won’t be any ground beneath them. This is a fact of life, and we do no good by pretending otherwise. Do not deny the reality you are living in, do not deny the people who hold up mirrors and ask you hard questions.

Read on for more...

“What is a PLUS Leader?”

Often I hear students ask this, wondering what exactly a “PLUS Leader” is and what is the process of becoming one. Well, according to our programming description, a PLUS Leader is someone who internalizes our core values of Believe, Act, and Inspire through workshops, college visits, and service projects. They join a community of leaders on campus to assist their peers in the pursuit of postsecondary education and help cultivate college-going culture within the school community. But honestly, it’s so much more than that.

I don’t think my words can fully illustrate the impact of the PLUS Leader program, or describe just how much I love watching my students grow as individuals and as leaders.

Read on for words from recently graduated PLUS Leaders.

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. These Fellows are commissioned to implement workshops, to provide academic assistance, and to serve our students in the PLUS Centers of our partner schools, Kensington Health Sciences Academy and Penn Treaty School. Here, we document their stories. 

Alex studied Communications, LGBTQ & Sexuality Studies, and Community Action & Social Change at the University of Michigan. He is passionate about racial, economic and queer/trans justice and sexual violence prevention and education, and he loves One Direction, going to concerts, and cooking. Alex brings these interests to Penn Treaty, where he inspires students to spread school-wide culture. In this post, Alex offers ten lessons to his students.

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. These Fellows are commissioned to implement workshops, to provide academic assistance, and to serve our students in the PLUS Centers of our partner schools, Kensington Health Sciences Academy and Penn Treaty School. Here, we document their stories. 

Aelita graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Psychology and minors in Religious Studies and Japanese. Aelita is a Fellow of many talents, including salsa dancing and touching her tongue to her nose, but most of all, she works tirelessly to inspire students at KHSA. Read on for anecdotes from Aelita, learning to let students lead her.

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. These Fellows are commissioned to implement workshops, to provide academic assistance, and to serve our students in the PLUS Centers of our partner schools, Kensington Health Sciences Academy and Penn Treaty School. Here, we document their stories. 

Julia is our resident Penn State expert, world traveler (she's been to twelve countries!) and pizza lover, coming to 12+ after graduating with a degree in Rehabilitation and Human Services and working in Penn State Admissions and Campus Visits. Julia reflects on several months at Penn Treaty School with 13 reasons she loves being a 12+ Fellow.

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. These Fellows are commissioned to implement workshops, to provide academic assistance, and to serve our students in the PLUS Centers of our partner schools, Kensington Health Sciences Academy and Penn Treaty School. Here, we document their stories. 

Christine, a native to the Philadelphia area and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, came to 12+ with a heart to serve inner city youth. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Biblical Counseling and enjoys sharing her love of dance and fashion with her students. 

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new smart and talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. Here are their stories.

Dustin, a Philly native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, shares his insights about his time at Penn Treaty School.

This summer, 12+ welcomed six new smart and talented individuals to the team through the 2014-2015 Fellows Initiative. Here are their stories.

Jazzmin, a proud graduate of Yale University and lover of cheesy romantic comedies, joined 12+ after teaching in an after-school program in Southern California.  After the first two weeks of the school year, Jazzmin reflects on her time at Kensington Health Sciences Academy (KHSA).