Earlier this month I had the privilege of participating in Creativity Camp, which was held at one of our partner agencies. I was so excited to have my first experience serving as a mentor in our programming. I had taken our day-long trauma informed training as part of my onboarding, and I was eager to put it to good use.
I was placed with a group of teen boys, and I couldn’t wait to see how the program worked. I knew our professional teaching artists were going to be great, having met them in the Camp orientation.
When we started our week together, the boys were pretty shut down. Granted, it was early in the day, but I was surprised at how disengaged they were—some of them even resting their heads on the tables, barely acknowledging our presence. We were off to a rocky start, not something I had expected.
But then we got going on our arts activities, starting with creative storytelling. By the end of the first session, most of our guys were participating in some way, so at least we were gaining some traction. Then we moved into collage and self-portraiture, which brought them out of their shells a bit more. We ended our first day with hip hop dance and movement, which seemed to break the ice for everyone.
Bit by bit, everyone’s walls came down. By the end of the week it was remarkable to see the transformation in these young people. Withdrawn and closed-off gave way to engaged, and participatory. Skepticism and quizzical looks gave way to laughter, smiles and a sense of camaraderie.
The boys had a chance to share their work in a showcase on the last day of camp. Their creativity was so inspiring to experience up close. One highlight came from a participant who folded his collaged portrait into a booklet. He cut on the folds—paper snowflake style—so that when it unfolded, his story was inside. On the cover he wrote a poem. He spoke very eloquently about how as a child he “knows things no child should know…but I’m still here.” It was a brilliant display of bravery and resilience. I had never seen anything like it.
In the hip hop showcase, our two teams showed off our choreographed routines, including yes, even us mentors. It was so heartening to see the boys encourage each other to participate, to support each other when they made mistakes or when feeling flustered. Something magical had happened—a little community had formed. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of it.
We ended with a pizza party and said our goodbyes. The boys all went out of their way to express their thanks as we parted ways. They made a profound and lasting impression on me. As we say at Free Arts, “mentorship transforms two lives.” I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to experience this for myself.
