Thursday, December 10, 2015

Elevator Speech

My go-to, pre-rehersed, ready-to-go speech sounds a little something like this: 


Youth Development at RIC means many things. Whats awesome about YDEV is that it is a combination of social work, education, and non profit studies. In addition to that each student had a unique concentration. YDEV is one of the very few programs that you can tailor to fit your individual interest. From the very beginning of the program you work hands on with youth in a variety of settings. This allows you to determine the kind of youth worker you are and would like to be. The field work also lets you explore a multitude youth settings, allowing you have a diverse youth worker experience before you even leave RIC. 

The internship component prepares you for the "real world." Through internships you learn about grant writing, purposeful play, advocacy and more. Belonging to a cohort is another YDEV advantage. Everyone's unique internship and concentrtion creates an environment where collaboration and peer learning is constantly happening. According to This is Youth Work: Stories from Practice, "It will come about only if decision-makers, youth workers and young people enter into consistent, critical conversations with one another about what makes youth work tick. It will come about only if youth work is democratic through and through." This is the exact definition of what YDEV at RIC does from the moment we all begin to learn together. We critically think about what YDEV is and then take it into our field placement. We work with a high level of excellence and professionalism to ensure we are making long lasting changes in the live of youth.