June 2024
Dear YPP Family and Friends,
We are thrilled to introduce back our monthly community newsletter! Similar to before, the monthly newsletter will consist of updates and information about the month, including insight into current events, reminders about future events, and an instructor shoutout. In this issue, we’ll introduce the new leadership team along with a few exciting initiatives that are currently underway! To ensure you're up-to-date with our organization, please make sure to join our mailing list to be notified whenever a newsletter is published or if we have any other exciting updates!
Join the mailing list at https://www.youthpassionproject.org/, scroll to the bottom of the page and sign up using your email!
New Leadership Team
We are pleased to introduce YPP’s new leadership team, which consists of Amanda Gorrin and Eesha Kodavatikanti as Co-Presidents, Lahari Beeram as Chief Operations Officer (COO), and Rubie Wang as Chief Academic Officer (CAO). Together, we hope to bring YPP into a new era of success and growth.
New Initiatives
Along with the new leadership team, we’ve also started to work on some fun new changes to YPP that will shift towards a more community-like environment!
First, we are excited to announce that in-person classes are currently in the works and are going to start soon! We hope to introduce more localized, community-based groups of instructors and classes based on where instructors are based. This initiative will help foster a more close-knit community, and provide a chance for hands-on learning for students who prefer such.
Although we are shifting our focus towards in-person classes, we will still provide online classes for those who prefer online classes or don’t have access to our in-person classes.
Secondly, a new schedule will start to be implemented, and be applied fully starting next year! This will include a quarterly schedule for classes, with each quarter containing ~10 weeks, with 2-week breaks between quarters. This new schedule will allow instructors to teach their classes more thoroughly, ensuring that students are able to succeed!
Last but not least, a website update will be in place where online and in-person classes are separate from one another, and a calendar of events will be open access to everyone as well. With this, we are hoping to take away any confusion people may have about when the registration dates will be, and also make sure that those who register for classes will know clearly if they’re signing up for in-person classes, or online ones, as well as which courses are available for each session.
Chapter Presidents
Along with our new in-person initiative, we’ve introduced a new leadership position available for those willing to be in charge of their community’s in-person instructors and their general management! Chapter Presidents will be in charge of their community of in-person instructors, classroom management, and also be in close contact with the instructors they oversee. This is a great opportunity to get involved with YPP on a deeper level since our Chapter Presidents will be directly working with our leadership team to help expand our organization and strategize. Applications for these positions are open to all interested high school students!
Want to join YPP as a Chapter President? Apply HERE!
Current Classes
Currently, YPP’s classes are in Session 20! With 10+ classes this session, here’s a sneak peek into what has been happening in our classrooms thus far…
French 101, taught by Neha Chowdhury
“Classes are going well with active student participation and a creative environment. In the beginning, students were hesitant to turn on their mics or cameras, but are doing so now. Additionally, there's a lot of improvement. For example, as we played a flash card quiz/game, my students had trouble answering in the beginning, but as we moved on, they got more and more answers correct.” -Neha Chowdhury
Introduction to Baking, taught by Amanda Gorrin
“My class is going great! The students have been very engaged, and are almost always ready to go at the start of class. They ask questions throughout class, and we always have a lot of fun. Overall, my class is going very smoothly, and from what I can tell, the students enjoy class and always come out with a new delicious dessert every week!” -Amanda Gorrin
Fundamentals of Pre-Algebra, taught by Abeer Sarfraz
“The course is progressing incredibly so far! We are nearing our final three sessions, and I can say with utmost confidence that this experience has been nothing but a success! Throughout the duration of the course, students have the opportunity to learn concepts using interactive slideshows that I create well-before the start of each session, as I believe this is a major asset in ensuring that students thoroughly comprehend the material. Additionally, I encourage students to solve problems collaboratively as I work through a live demonstration/practice problem. I also provide students with the opportunity to consolidate concepts as we complete the slideshow using additional practice exercises. Last but not least, I create Kahoot and Blooket games for students to play at the start and end of the session to not only review all the topics covered in that lesson, but review ALL the topics taught in an engaging and friendly competition!” -Abeer Sarfraz
Monthly Shoutout
This month’s instructor shoutout goes to …
George Thompson, Instructor of Introduction to Meteorology!
George Thompson has been an instructor at YPP since Session 16, with this being his last! YPP’s team would like to give George a warm goodbye and congratulations for graduating, and thank him for sharing his passion through our organization. George’s passion for Meteorology gives students a glimpse at the wonders of the atmosphere, sparking curiosity and perhaps even inspiring future scientists! George’s dedication and memorable time at the Youth Passion Project have left a lasting impact in our community, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors!
What are some things you enjoy about your class?
“I particularly enjoy sharing weather resources that don't typically get taught to middle school students. For instance, I introduced students to a reanalysis map dataset called ERA5 that meteorologists use to see temperatures, air pressure, and dewpoints during historic blizzards and hurricanes -- this can show, rather then tell students about the difference between high and low-pressure systems (for example).”
“What I love most, and what keeps me coming back, is the engagement and questions. Some students ask questions that are more inquisitive than most adults. I love having questions or comments that help re-direct the flow of a lesson and sometimes let me discuss a topic I would have otherwise forgotten to bring up. I enjoy getting to know all the personalities of my students and building relationships with them, a couple of whom have registered for my class since the start of my journey with the Youth Passion Project. These connections and the ongoing engagement truly make teaching a fulfilling and joyful experience for me.”
“I have enjoyed teaching (this will be my last term as I have graduated). Thank you for giving me this opportunity!”
George Thompson, congratulations and thank you for being a part of the Youth Passion Project community!
You are all caught up!
Thank you so much for reading! If you have any updates, concerns, or questions that you would like to share with the organization, please feel free to email us at support@youthpassionproject.org.
Remember to keep up with us on Social Media!
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Support Us!
As we have continued to grow nationally and globally, some of our high schoolers have been paying out of pocket for the expansion and maintenance of our project. Your donations are 100% tax deductible and help keep our mission and organization alive—ensuring accessible education to young students all over the world!
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