2018 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2018 | Page 32

This summer, the students at The Intersection chose to run an awareness
campaign for the Lockbox Fund, a constitutional amendment that will
ensure that casino profits are used as additional funding for Maryland
Public Schools.
No matter what I asked of the young people, from trainings to canvass-
ing, they met the challenge with a maturity that adults rarely expect from
people in high school. They actually enjoyed canvassing! While I was
ready to escape the heat in the first fifteen minutes, the students were
so energized talking to community members that I was the one being
dragged along.
In the beginning of the summer, when I was introducing organizing
strategies and sharing my experience in the organizing community of
Baltimore, they were receptive and already well informed. The majority
of them had participated in advocacy in Baltimore City previously, and I
learned a lot about their perspective and priorities.
Community Partner: The Intersection
Intern: Lauren Fink
Site Supervisor: Meera Balasubramanian
What is The Intersection?
The Intersection transforms students from un-
derserved areas into leaders with the skills to
go to and through college, to engage in civic
action, and to articulate and solve challeng-
es facing themselves and their communities.
We provide high school students with two to
three years of leadership training, academic
counseling, college preparatory program-
ming, emotional and social support, and
ongoing college and career advising.
To enrich their understanding of the wider world of activism in Baltimore,
we had a meeting with Kim Trueheart. She is an active citizen in West
Baltimore and the director of a recreation center just a few blocks from
Bard High School. What was to supposed to be a one hour meeting
became three hours of storytelling and bonding. Some of the students
loved her so much that we met at her recreation center later in the sum-
mer to begin brainstorming potential collaborations between our organi-
zations for the future.
Moving into the school year, I am confident that they will continue their
work, and feel truly empowered in their ability to enact change in their
city!
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• Facilitated high school students in civic
engagement around the Lockbox fund, a
proposed constitutional amendment
• Coordinated meetings and training with
influential community members
• Assisted high school seniors with the col-
lege application process