Mississippi Youth Media Project
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YMP Student Voices

Hear from our current class of 2017 Youth Media Project participants in their own words.

Coming to America and the 13th Floor

6/19/2017

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by Raha Maxwell

Costa Rica was my first trip abroad and how I started my summer. The nine-day trip was an adventure! Murrah 10th-grade APAC teacher Mrs. Gough-Jones organized the trip through her nonprofit, the Wild Horses Travel Club.

My classmates and I went to a coffee plantation and La Fortuna Waterfall. We went kayaking in Lake Arenal and horseback riding. We also relaxed in Arenal hot springs, zip-lined, hiked in Santa Elena Cloud Forest, explored Rainforest Adventure Park and enjoyed the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park. There were beautiful birds flying in the sky, like scarlet macaws and toucans. Pesky white-faced monkeys tried to steal food from us. Big, unique bugs crawled under my feet. Costa Rica was a great adventure! I hope to go back and spend my colones. ​

While I was in Costa Rica, the Youth Media Project started its first week. I thought that once I came back to the States and stepped into the work room for my second summer, there would be paper up to my neck! That Monday, the first obstacle was waking up early, like a normal school morning, and then commute from Bolton to Jackson. 

Once I arrived at Capital Towers, I thought I knew which floor YMP was on. First, I went to the 15th floor. It did not look familiar from our orientation. Then, I went to the 16th, 17th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 18th floor and couldn't find it. I questioned if I was even in the right building. I went to the 1st floor to find out where YMP really was. Then, feeling like my 100th time riding in the elevator, I clicked the 13th-floor button again.

Once I got off the elevator, I saw where I would spend the rest of my summer. Everyone was nice. The food was great. There where no papers up to my neck. We actually talked about serious subjects, like racism. We came up with definitions for words that hold black people back in America. These words reinforce how many steps back blacks are from birth in this society. This truth is due to black people's past history.

 I smiled, because I knew summer 2017 was going to be great.
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Major Sponsors and Supporters of YMP

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Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) is a leader in informational broadcasting. MPB has exhibited a commitment to educating and informing Mississippians. MPB has partnered with YMP to lend tech equipment and provide youth engagement and media specialists to train students. 
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E3, a project of Parents of Public Schools of Jackson (now Ask for More), supported YMP in summers 2016 and 2017 with stipends for students, and other  resources.
The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson (now The Community Foundation of Mississippi) is the
​fiscal sponsor for E3.
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Podastery Studios in downtown Jackson offers a network of locally produced podcasts. Beau York, founder of Podastery, has generously donated his time to train YMP students in podcasting skills and allowed Youth Media Project students to borrow professional podcasting equipment to learn
​production skills.
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Dialogue Jackson, formerly Jackson 2000 Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to fostering understanding and building harmony between people of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. The group became YMP's fiscal sponsor in 2017 and hosts youth dialogues for teens.. 

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Choice Printing in downtown Jackson is an in-kind sponsor of YMP offering YMP copying and printing services from its Capitol Towers location.

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Good Design & Code >>

Good Design & Co offers high-end UI/UX, web development, app development and branding services. Principal J.C. Hiatt is helping YMP students publish their own website for stories, video, podcasts and more.
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Jackson-based Workplace Solutions by Barefield is a Steelcase authorized dealer offering high-end office furniture and technology solutions. Workplace Solutions has loaned chairs, mobile desks and mobile whiteboards to create a collaborative office for YMP participants.

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Jackson-based Fuse.cloud (formerly Broadband Voice) offers Voice-over-IP phone systems, fiber Internet connections and technical services. Fuse.cloud has sponsored phones, VoIP phone service and technical assistance for YMP.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. GEORGE SCHIMMEL and NATALIE IRBY FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS OF PRODUCTION IMACS FOR THE YOUTH MEDIA PROJECT.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO YMP.
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