Expanding opportunities for Teens at SSYP - February Break BRIDGE Trip
/By Alex Maizonett, SSYP Lead Counselor
For the third consecutive year teens from St.Stephen's Youth Program embarked on a week-long college tour expedition this past February break as a part of our BRIDGE trips. This trip was started three years ago by Jeremy Kazajan-Amory, SSYP’s Director of College Partnerships and Program Development, in order to provide the teens with a unique opportunity over school vacation to visit schools, explore new cities, and continue to build community amongst the staff. In the previous years, this trip has gone to many cities, including Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. This year, once again, the BRIDGE trip traveled to Washington D.C., and for the first time was able to explore Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to the trip the chaperones and the teen staff all fundraised in order to make this trip a reality, and let me tell you, our Valentine’s day bake sale was a huge hit.
Sunday, February 16th, 10 teens and 5 chaperones met at St. Stephen at 8:00 AM to start the 7-hour drive from Boston to D.C with a pit stop in Philly. The drive consisted of straight laughter and mini-concerts. The first day we played (at least) 3 whole albums on just the ride from Boston to New York. After 5.5 hours of driving, we finally arrived at our first destination, Philadelphia. Once we arrived in Philly we were greeted almost immediately with a Mardi Gras parade. After we were attacked graciously with party beads, it was time to have an authentic cheesesteak from Ishkabibble’s restaurant. The movie Rocky became a reality in Philly; For the fans of Rocky Marciano, the steps where he ran up was an iconic symbol and some of the teens took full advantage of it. The theme song came on, the run started, and the air-boxing display at the top finished off the experience. The next adventure before we hit the road to D.C was the Red Market where the teens got ice cream. The drive from Philly to DC was only 2.5 hours and it was a nice nighttime drive to where we were staying.
SSYP teens at the Lincoln Memorial
Monday, February 17th the true purpose of the trip was in full effect as we made out first college visit to Georgetown University, home of the Hoyas. The Georgetown tour was very informative for the teens and sparked some interest from the sophomores because of their educational programs and the castle-like structure of some of the buildings. The tour ended in the bookstore where we spent almost an hour buying gear from the Hoyas. After the college visit our afternoon activity was a trip to the National Portrait Gallery. There, we were able to see the famous presidential portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, along with other powerful pieces of artwork based on the history of the U.S and the world. After the portrait gallery, we all went to visit some of the historic memorials. We were able to see the National Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the same exact spot MLK Jr stood for his speech, and the giant MLK statue. The teens were also able to ride uber scooters. At the end of each day, another of the chaperones, Phylicia Jeffries, and I led a reflection circle to talk about the day and to see what the teens were thinking about their future.
At Howard University, A Historically Black University
Tuesday, February 18th was a day that the teens were looking forward to, we were going to Howard University, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The teens were really excited for this trip because of our focus on Black Excellence. The programs being offered at Howard were eye-opening and teens said that the campus gave them a “homey'' vibe. Some teens were really interested in the fraternities that Howard offered, which possibly sold them on Howard, who will hopefully be receiving some applications from the SSYP teen staff. Our afternoon activity was a tour of the U.S Capitol. There was so much beautiful artwork in the Capitol which made it seem more like a museum than a government building. After the tour, the group had an option to pick one of the museums nearby. Some chose The Natural History Museum while others went to The Holocaust Memorial. Since Tuesday was our last night in D.C, we decided as a group to go to a mini-arcade and play some Laser Tag. It was an intense game of laser tag but, it brought the group together. On Wednesday, our last morning in D.C we visited American University. American University had a very large and beautiful campus but the teens didn’t feel the same connection to this campus for various reasons. After the American University tour, we began our long drive North to Providence to conclude the rest of our college expedition. After another 7.5 hour drive with 9 albums in the lineup, we arrived.
SSYP Teens enjoying a night at Dave & Busters
Thursday, February 20th we were closer to home but we still had two great colleges to tour and one last night activity to do. We were able to stay in a nice 15 person Airbnb five minutes from Providence College, which we toured on Thursday morning. A major difference between Providence College and the other schools we had toured was its religious affiliation; Providence College is a catholic school with a mandatory theology course for all students, though this did not prove a deterrence for our teens. They were interested in the idea that it was closer to home, a large campus with lots food service options, a good student life, and an active sports culture. Like Howard, Providence College had the attention of our teen staff. Since we were in Rhode Island we decided to go to Insomnia cookies, had some delicious burger sliders all in preparation for our night a Dave & Busters. Dave & Buster was LIT! Everybody had a good time that night. Some teens participated in the Virtual Reality game, and some teens actually beat some of the arcade games they had there. A few of the teens made their way into the mall and went on a little shopping spree. Later that night, since it was the last night together and we still had some energy from the arcade, we played a few games, listened to music and had Chinese food together.
Friday, February 21th was the final day of our week-long college expedition through the Northeast. Our last college tour was The University of Rhode Island. It was extremely cold and windy on this tour. It had been a week of traveling, visiting different schools, waking up early, and a lot of walking. The energy of the last tour was a little down and the weather did not help, but our teens pushed through and were actively engaged with the tour guide. The teen’s reaction to URI was split, some of our teens enjoyed it while others were still stuck on Providence college. They did like the new engineering building that was built at URI.
This BRIDGE trip was one to remember. The long drives brought people together and the college tours showed our teens different opportunities outside of Boston. The activities outside of the tours always kept the group’s morale up and created some funny memories. For many people, it was the first time going to D.C and Philly, so the experience was extremely unique and eye-opening. For some people, this was the first time being away from home, and this trip allowed them to step well outside of their comfort zone. When all was said and done, nobody wanted to go home - they wanted to do another week. but they’ll have to wait 365 days for another expedition. While it is too early to know where next year’s trip will visit, we know that the participants will have an amazing opportunity!
Alex Maizonett has been active as a participant and staff at SSYP since he was a child. He is currently employed as a Full Time Lead Counselor in the B-SAFE Learn program, working with elementary school student, and works with our College and Career team on programming for our teens.