Wrapping Up & Looking Ahead

Students cover SXSW panels

2014 has been been quite a year. We’ve sharpened our focus to make sure that more underserved youth are given opportunities to explore creative careers. We helped more than 40 high school and college age youth earn access to SXSW. We also provided college/career coaches for 15 deserving youth as they shadowed professionals from some of Austin’s most creative spaces including GSD&M and C3 Presents as a part of Shadow the Pros program. Through our College Mentors in Classrooms, we currently have trained mentors working directly with teachers serving over 500 students in greater Austin.

Now, as we close out the year, we look forward to impacting many more young people’s lives. In January, we’ll work with our partners to help 60 more young creatives earn access to SXSW through the Youth Media Project. They’ll complete 72 hours of Team Building, Critical Thinking, Media Literacy and Content Creation training and showcase their talent through coverage of the festival. Our college mentors are in classrooms around the city helping students Apply for the boot camp right now!  More than 300 students will tour creative workplaces in the Spring and this Summer, we’ll double the size of our Shadow the Pros program.

We’re so proud to serve Austin’s next generation of creative!