This year, we are experiencing so many new things. New administration, new teachers, new electives, and even a new after-school program. The YMCA NAHS After Hours program is held in the MPR every day after school until 6 pm, but what exactly do they do?
The program is a great way for students, especially freshmen, to build community. They offer a plethora of activities, with each day bringing something new. Some days they make friendship bracelets, some days they play games, and some days they even host rap battles.
The Puma Press had the pleasure of interviewing Mercy Phutoma and Will Komas, two of the leads of this program, and they were able to explain everything in a little more detail.
They began with explaining what exactly they did during the after-school program, “We foster a positive environment for students to engage in STEM, arts and crafts, and volunteering activities,” Mercy says.
Will was a little more specific, “We do a range of things, but particularly our goal is to offer a safe educational space for teens after school, in the most general way. We’ve done things such as photo club on Mondays, we also have dance, and we’re currently doing a food series about food health; teens going to college need to know how to make food.”
Mercy works for the YMCA because it has values that align with her own: Responsibility, honesty, respect, communication, and more. Will started working with them in high school, and after moving to California, he found himself drawn back. He stated that it was always a safe community, and he’s glad that now he gets to be a part of the community for NAHS.
The objective of the program is to provide an engaging space for NAHS students and expose them to other opportunities.
“It’s not just to learn, I think learning is important, but on top of that our number one priority is making sure there is a space for kids to feel safe, it’s an opportunity for making sure kids have somewhere to go, someone to talk to, and to be heard,” Will mentioned.
To encourage you readers to look more into the program, here are some final words from Will.
“There’s a lot I could say, I mean I guess I’ve said a lot already. Just pop in and say hi, check us out. We have a schedule available so if there’s something you’d like to do, show up on one of the days! Come on in, we’ll introduce ourselves. Come see how it is; if it’s not your thing, that’s fine, but I’m sure there’s something for everyone here.”
To learn more, check out the Instagram page, nvyteens. An image of the schedule for next week is attached.
