Elevator Speech

When I first made the switch to YDEV I did not have the language to talk about it with my family so I actually didn't tell them for a long time. Thankfully with Intro to YDEV we began to start discussing what it is and even practiced our own speeches. I actually have the link right here Elevator Pitch. In my group we talked about why we want to major in YDEV by saying things like; advocate, empower and lead with youth outside of the classroom in a non-profit setting, have the ability to co-construct a safe space where youth can explore and express their wants, needs and ideas because youth need their voices heard and valued too and as youth workers, we want to work with youth to access tools for interpreting the world and communities around us, and to help them empower themselves to create change within it.
These are all still things I value and discuss when I talking about YDEV. I think my perfect elevator speech would go something like;

"As a Youth Development major I have had the ability to explore multiple options when it comes to working with youth outside of their regular school setting. With my social work classes I have gained knowledge on diversity, my non profit classes have allowed me to see what the job entails and my YDEV courses have allowed me to discover what kind of youth worker I want to be and given me the tools to lead with youth. My work with youth is based around social justice and creating change. My internship at NUA in Central High School has allowed me to work with youth in a casual setting where we discuss diversity and oppression and how they can create and impact change in their lives."

In the text This is Youth Work chapter 3 specifically because the story "Holding onto your dignity; supporting young Black people harassed by police" stood out to me because it is similar to something I had been discussing in my internship site. There was an altercation between an administrator and a student and other students did not feel safe. We discussed what happened, why we think it happened and what the staff could do to ease students minds about the incident. Much like in the story told none of us as youth leaders made the decision on what was best for the students or what would make them feel safe. We wrote down what they said and brought it to administration so we could advocate for them on a larger scale.