One of the many joys of being a part of an intergenerational community is seeing those before you succeed.
There is immense power for students to see others who have experienced their surroundings, even sharing the same teachers, classrooms, and struggles, and then see how they have succeeded. The Black Student Union at Asheville High School certainly believes that to be true.
This event was a true collaboration among students, adults, and key community members and organizations. With the planning and transportation support of the local organization, My Daddy Taught Me That and logistics assistance from LeVette Cambell, an AHS social worker, alongside United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Community School Coordinator Tatyana Barrett's, dozens of Asheville High School (AHS) students gathered together to hear from two graduates of Asheville High who are both highly successful in their lives. The Black Student Union invited Dr. Travis Whiteside, owner and CEO of Plug and Hotworks, and rapper Big TYGE, the youth-chosen speakers of the first “Hood Talk.”
The event was titled “Hood Talk,” as Tia Irby, the AHS Black Student Union co-leader, explained, “Hood Talk is trying to bring in people who were and are a part of our community who have become successful in their fields. It’s about giving that exposure to students in the school looking for that type of motivation to see that someone from the same places and school can make it too.”
Events like these are essential to the community school strategy because they allow for enriched learning for local students in the audience and provide leadership experience for the AHS Black Student Union members. The Black Student Union members took the leadership position and listened to their peers' thoughts about who the speakers of this event would be and handled much of the coordinating themselves. UWABC is proud to support our Community School Coordinators, like Tatyana Barrett - who helps to bolster impactful events like Hood Talk.
Don't Stop There!
Learn more about Community Schools: HERE
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