Take a peek into the eyes of our future...and be encouraged.
The Me I See in You is a testament to the commitment, dedicated educators and caring communities have in changing the trajectory of young lives. In it, you'll meet graduates with incredible stories and extraordinary outcomes, thanks to the academic, emotional, and social resources provided by EYM and a caring core base of teachers, mentors, family, friends, funders, and the EYM board of directors.
"When asked what I see on the horizon for our youth, I see in my youth the essence of what it is "to be human," to dream, do the work, to love, and forgive with grace. Through tears, triumphs, disappointments, successes, failures, inequities, biases, and racism, I see a world full of hope because our youth with guidance and support will not waiver. They will continue to strive to be and share their best selves with unlimited potential. I think not only of these former students but each child that has come across my path and the me I see in each of them!" -Angeles Echols
This former student is a little chocolate beauty who was once teased, but now with an MD and master's degree, is a role model for young Black women and girls.
Soon after I met this EYM alum she rolled her neck and eyes at me and adamantly told us what she was and was not going to do at EYM... I smiled and asked her mom to leave the room. (What was said in that room, we will never tell.)
This EYM graduate sat at my desk and reviewed EYMs' online programming, discovered flaws, said "Don't cry, Ms. Echols, I can fix this," and built EYMs' online interactive platform, Access/No Excuse (ANE).
This former student built the teacher, student online tutorial component of (ANE) while attending Cal Tech and teaching at EYM part-time.
When you look upon a child whose eyes have already begun to dim due to deferred hope don't speculate on how long it will take before the light is completely extinguished-find a way to set it ablaze.