Umbrella college-to-career program
Heritage & Innovation Pathways (HIP)
E4 Youth’s umbrella college-to-career program brings together Get Creative! College & Careers, E4 Level Up, and the Creative Leadership Academy.
Culture · Creativity · Storytelling · Leadership
Community stories. Career pathways.
E4 Youth engages communities through culture, educates through creativity, empowers through storytelling, and elevates voices into leadership, opportunity, and legacy.
The Four E's
The Four E's show how we work
Our circular Engage → Empower → Educate → Elevate framework welcomes participants at multiple points. Each E can be visible across every program; they are not separate departments or a required sequence.
Our Work
Programs and experiences to explore
Find a creative starting point, build professional experience, or contribute to community stories.
Program
Get Creative! High School Clubs
Get Creative! High School Clubs bring creative exploration and career readiness directly into the classroom. Through five interactive sessions, students discover their creative strengths, develop portfolio-ready work, practice sharing their ideas, and build confidence in their unique voices.
FY26-27 school year
Program
Black Austin: The Gold Dollar
Who was Jacob Fontaine, and why did he start one of Austin's earliest Black newspapers? Students use archival images and the 5 Ws to explore how Black Austinites used education, journalism, and community leadership to preserve their stories and push for change.
Fall, November-December
Youth pathway
Young people may grow from story to leadership
Participants may enter at different points; not every person follows every step.
Through Heritage & Innovation Pathways (HIP), including its Creative Leadership Academy (CLA), college-level creatives work with communities on meaningful heritage projects while building research, media, technology, and professional skills.
Discover HIPStory
Identity, culture, history, and voice.
Skill
Research, communication, and creative practice.
Opportunity
Exposure, portfolio growth, and supported roles.
Leadership
Agency, contribution, and responsibility.
Community
Connect → Contribute → Shape → Preserve
Community members are knowledge holders, participants, reviewers, creators, and stewards, not simply sources for youth projects.
Explore community partnershipsYouth
Learn → Create → Practice → Lead
Young people build confidence and capability through age-appropriate, supported roles.
Explore programsOrganization, place, and platform
How the pieces fit together
E4 Youth
The nonprofit responsible for mission, programs, partnerships, and results.
Learn moreWOW Heritage Center
E4 Youth's physical and public home for learning, storytelling, and community engagement.
Learn moreWhat Once Was
The public platform for stories, tours, exhibits, and related experiences.
Visit platformEvidence
Show learning, agency, opportunity, and legacy
E4 Youth is in an assessment year. Rather than publish placeholder counters, the site now points visitors toward verified stories, program status, and qualitative evidence until current reporting is approved.
Review impact and evidence
WOW Heritage Center
Experience stories at the WOW Heritage Center
The Center is E4 Youth's public home for learning, storytelling, and community engagement at 1141 Chicon St. in Austin.
1141 Chicon St., Austin, TX 78702
Plan a visit
Visitor information for What Once Was experiences, tours, exhibits, and public programs lives with the WOW Heritage Center.
Visit WOW