Project Emerald: Youth and Their Ability To Shine

This Capstone project was implemented at Growing Greatness located in Watsonville, CA to address the lack of access to leadership programs for the underserved youth in Watsonville with purpose of empowering them to become effective communicators and advocate for them to inspire change through an in-person workshop about speaking to inspire them for action by and speaking with passion, empathy and purpose. The project was implemented using a focus group based approach that involved participants and youth leaders. The evaluation of the project revealed that it met most of the expected outcomes, and that the participants reported significant improvements in their ability to express their ideas and advocate for their communities. However, some challenges were identified, such as the need for resources and follow-up support to sustain the impact of the workshop. To address these challenges, the project recommends that the agency should establish more partnerships with local schools and youth organizations