Summer Saturdays at Stanford
By Sophia Kim, program director for the High School Support Initiative at the Haas Center for Public Service
The High School Support Initiative ran Summer Saturdays at Stanford, a new summer program for youth from the high schools that we are partnered with: Gunn, Menlo-Atherton, and Sequoia high schools. The youth served in the program are from marginalized communities locally and were identified by our partners to apply for the program. All together 27 youth participated with the support of 10 Stanford student volunteers. It was a wonderful four Saturdays of workshops on such topics as resume building and college preparation along with field trips kayaking in the Bay, to SF State, and to Huddart Park in Woodside.
Participants had positive feedback about the program, saying they learned a lot and valued getting to work with the Stanford students. We are planning follow up sessions during the school year to bring the youth and volunteers back together in more activities.
Here are a few quotes from youth participants:
- I really enjoyed this program, every single minute of it. This went by really fast but it definitely made this my favorite summer.
- I wanted to say this was an amazing opportunity to get to know the Stanford students! You guys are the best, you guys are truly amazing! Best wishes to the volunteers.
- I really appreciate what you guys did for us, paying for our food and providing us with your time. Thank you so much! I learned a lot!
- It was really good because it taught us a lot.
And a few quotes from Stanford student volunteers:
- I love doing volunteer work with children, outside of simply tutoring (which is important too!) Between this program and Kesem, I’ve found two great communities full of love and adventure, and have had one of the best summers.
- I didn’t realize how impactful a 4 weekend program could be. It was good that we were reasonable with how much could be done, but I also learned not to underestimate the importance of exposure to topics in college access. On the last day, I was surprised with how much the students took away from the program, especially during their mini open-mic speeches.
- I would wake up each Saturday dreading the early morning only to fall in love with the day.
