My first experience at EOYDC was the summer of my freshman year. Sister Jackie Anderson told my mom about the Summer Culture Enrichment Program which offers jobs for the summer. Although I always attend some form of summer school, my mom made the exception that year and allowed me to go through the interview process to see if I would get the job. After a series of workshops with Sister Jackie we were ready for the interview process (or so we thought). We were so nervous that some of the people forgot to mention their names and said all kind of crazy things (We look back on those times now and laugh), I tried my best in that small, hot interviewing room and the next day I learned that my best was just what EOYDC was looking for.
When we started work a few days later I didn’t know that that summer would not only turn out to be my summer of growth, but also the best summer of my life. The people I worked with were not just colleagues, but more like family to me. They were there to share the good and happy times that happened in the summer and they were there on the night of the sleepover when I cried my eyes out.
Most of the people, maybe all, laugh when they think back on the night of the sleepover when I refused to spend the night at the EOYDC. To understand why I dreaded the sleep over so much and why me a grown teenager with a job, cried so many tears like a big baby, I guess you have to understand that I had never spent a night away from home before. Never! Not at my grandmother’s house, my friends house or even my father’s house. So the thought of spending an entire night away from home and my mother who at the time I didn’t do anything without, scared me half to death. When Ms. Regina said I could either stay or leave and don’t come back, everyone decided that I was going to stay whether I wanted to or not. The girl youth leaders crowded around me and told me it was going to be okay. Everybody helped me feel as comfortable as possible, even the children helped out with making me feel at home. My great grandmother from Louisiana even called me and told me to "fix my face". By the end of the night (early morning) the children were finally beginning to fall asleep and I took it upon myself to check on every last one of them and make sure they were okay. After that I finally drifted off to sleep. A few hours later (it felt like one) the kids were waking me up telling me “You did it,you did it!” The rest of the day passed by quickly, but I remember having a smile on my face the entire day.
As the end of the program came, I was faced with two of the hardest things I had ever had to deal with up until that point. The first one came on the last day of the program after we came back from our final field trip. We sent the kids to the Homework Center to wait for their parents which was absolutely normal, but something just didn’t seem right then I realized that I wouldn’t see these children anymore. These children that I had cared for like they were my own, these children I had watched grow and play these children that I had loved with all my heart, these children that I had woke up in the middle of the night thinking about were leaving me. I remember thinking these are my babies and at that point I couldn’t hold on to my emotions any more so I cried and as I cried the kids began to cry and then the youth leaders and finally Selena (the director) began to cry. Letting go of my babies was one of the hardest things I did that summer, but they say in every cloud there is a silver lining and my silver lining came when Selena and the other directors told me I was Youth Leader of the year. I was so surprised that I was selected Youth Leader of the Year especially after the way I acted at the sleepover.
The second obstacle I faced that summer was the Big City Mountaineers Trip. This trip broke me down completely. I had already spent one night away from home at the sleepover, but the trip required me to spend 7 days away from home hiking 10,000 feet in the Sierra Mountains. I was stretched like I was never stretched before, but at the end of the trip I had experiences that made me tougher and stronger. I had something no one will ever be able to take away from me.
When we returned from the BCM trip, I continued working at EOYDC during the school year as a tutor in the Homework Center. As the summer approached the new summer program director, Brittney Harris remembered how I used to wake up early in the morning, the previous summer and cook for the youth leaders. She then offered me a job as the cooking instructor. I was very flattered because the Summer Program had never had a cooking instructor and so I became
first (plus the pay was better). That summer gave me the opportunity to teach my own class and to be responsible not only for the children, but the things we did in the class and so once again I was stretched and I had the opportunity to grow.
The Center has been a place for me to learn and develop into the person I will be in the future. It has also opened various doors for me, one of which is my relationship with pediatrician Dr. Bean, whom I met while chaperoning a group of EOYDC children on a field trip to a Raider’s game. Although some people may not consider being introduced to a doctor very important, it is to me because my lifelong dream has been to become a pediatrician. By
introducing me to Dr. Bean, Ms. Regina introduced someone into my life that will be able to share with me his own personal experiences, guide me through my own and direct me to the path that will lead me to become a pediatrician. The relationship that I am building with him will also lead to more relationships with other doctors that may be able to help me pursue my dreams. While Ms. Regina was the person who introduced me to Dr. Bean, she has left it
to me to build my own relationship with him. This is good because it gives me more confidence in myself that I am somebody important and that I deserve to be able to work along side brilliant people. This confidence was key in leading me to apply (and be accepted) for internships with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, Congresswoman Barbra Lee and Congressman Ron Dellums.
The EOYDC has been a great place for me to grow and to experience new things. Like I have said before I have been pulled and stretched in every possible direction, but it has all lead up to me becoming the person I am today.
I will continue to use all of the lessons that I have learned at EOYDC throughout my life.
-Lanikque Howard, Youth Computer Instructor