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.

Nervous, Then Relieved

6/20/2017

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by Lailaa Bashir

YMP has been a very interesting experience, as I have not had any training in media prior to this. I was somewhat nervous when I first entered the building and began my first journey by going up the elevator to the 13th floor. When I arrived, I was relieved to see a couple of familiar faces, but because of my introverted nature, I proceeded to stand in the farthest corner of the main room my myself. 

Emily Henderson, who appeared very young and charismatic, then gathered the 2017 YMP group toward the center of the room for some introduction exercises. As time passed, I began to become more comfortable with these unfamiliar surroundings, but was still apprehensive to speak. As we were finishing our introduction exercises and segued into lunch, I seemed to lose track of time easily, and the rest of the day flew by and came to an abrupt end. ​

Returning to the YMP office the second day was slightly easier for me, as I began to speak to my colleagues as they welcomed me into the room. But today we began our nine-week journey with an introduction to rigorous journalism, taking notes accordingly. 

After our break for lunch, our team practiced interviewing skills, which the students assigned in pairs to interview our partner in 15-minute increments. My partner was August Harp, whom I had known from my previous school, McWillie Elementary. This past interaction helped our interviews to be more natural and fluid, and we actually discovered details about each other that we never knew before. 

We were then introduced to the story of Cedric Willis, a man who was arrested at 19 and wrongly accused of shooting, raping and murdering a woman and killing his husband. As the day came to a close, we were given the assignment of creating 10 questions to ask our interview partner and to also finish reading "Deepest Midnight," the story about Cedric's struggle and the unjust criminal-justice system.
I am looking forward to learning new things at YMP and to producing a product I can be proud of because of my hard work.
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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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