Youth Empowerment Institute

Summary

UCSC's Everett Program has been running a summer institute for over a decade. Each year the Youth Empowerment Institute (YEI), it changes and improves. It is a free week-long summer camp where those in under-resourced communities can stay at UCSC and learn about pathways to college, all while building and coding a mobile app with this information. This year, YEI will be doing direct outreach to the Watsonville area - focusing on Pajaro Valley and Watsonville High Schools. Due to the gender gap in STEM fields, YEI is seeking young women and inspire them to pursue higher education. We hope to create a cohort of leaders ready to change not only their future, but the future of their community. 

Head over to the Everett Program's page to learn more about the Youth Empowerment Institute: http://www.everettprogram.org/yei/ 

YEI 2015 in Class

The Problem

In comparison to the rest of California, the population of Watsonville holds significantly fewer bachelor degrees. Young adults in the area have less opportunities to connect with people who have been through college. Those with college degrees tend to face less unemployment and typically earn higher salaries.

Our Solution

The Youth Empowerment Institute targets high school girls in Watsonville to teach them about college access and mobile coding (using HTML and jQuery). With the technology gap between Watsonville and the nearby Silicon Valley as well as the gender gap in STEM fields, we seek to empower young women. They have the opportunity to come to our camp for FREE and code their OWN mobile app. The main goal of YEI is to inspire underrepresented women in society to pursue higher education, as well as to create a cohort of leaders who will change the way they see their future.

Who are we?

From left to right: Natalie, Kyra, Michelle, and Sierra

We are all junior and senior sociology majors at UCSC. Sierra, Michelle, and Natalie are transfer students. Sierra is an Everett Program intern (the program through which we run YEI). Kyra has worked with another camp in the past as well as been an active member of UCSC, holding jobs as a tutor and a university tour guide. Michelle has also worked as a camp counselor and in childcare fields. Natalie has been working with transfer students as well as has a history of working with students from middle school to college. 

Our team is committed to providing these students with information on pathways to college and alternate routes. 

We hope you choose to support us to make YEI 2017 the best one yet!