Loreal Burnett- Reaching Out and Lifting Up

Hello, my name is Loreal Burnett. I am a first-year VISTA serving with Atlantic Impact in Detroit. Atlantic Impact is an education and travel based organization that provides a college readiness program as well as youth workforce development. With the Our World program, the organization combines SAT Prep, college tours, FAFSA assistance, and mentorship with a study abroad experience for high school juniors. In contrast, the Our Town program provides high school seniors with skilled trade exposure through a series of hands-on field trips along with career advising.
 
Trying to explain the many programs and services offered by Atlantic Impact could take more time than this blog post permits, so I'll focus on my role as Outreach Coordinator. I mainly serve with the Our Town program, reaching out to potential school partners as well as maintaining the relationship with existing partners. Early in my VISTA year, I helped establish relationships with 5 of the nine local high schools we are currently partnered with, serving over 150 youth. I also help organize our monthly skilled trade field trips with each school by being the contact person between the schools and Atlantic Impact. These field trips are my favorite part of serving because I get to see first-hand how important and impactful our program is for the students. Helping the student learn about alternate career paths that are not always advertised as a viable first option for recent graduates has been a rewarding experience in itself. Not to mention hilarious watching some of the students using the many tools for the first time.
 
I also developed a monthly meeting for students of the Our World program following the study abroad trip. Atlantic Impact previously focused solely on the junior year leading up to the study abroad trip in the summer. I thought it essential to develop a program to help support the seniors during the college application process to ensure post-secondary enrollment. We now have a monthly meeting for the students, which started last fall that provides them with additional SAT prep for seniors interested in retaking the test, connecting students with college admission representatives for the schools they are interested in attending, help to complete college and scholarship applications. Our goal is to make sure that all of the students who participated in the study abroad program not only get accepted to a post-secondary institution but that they also have all of the resources needed to attend.
 
So, far in my VISTA year, my main challenge had been getting new partners on-board. When I first started at Atlantic Impact in August, I reached out to 64 local high school counselors and principals to market our program, and of that number, I had ten schools respond, and only five signed on to participate. Yet, with the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, I, like all of us, am now facing a new challenge of adjusting to this new work environment and brainstorming ways to continue serving our communities and host sites.
 
While I am unsure as to what the remainder of my VISTA year will look like exactly, I am glad to have had the opportunity to serve with my host site and our students. I have high hopes for the completion of our programs and seeing our hard work come to fruition. 

In This Photo: ​Students sitting on a bench they built at Emerging Industries Training Institute carpentry workspace. 

In This Photo: Students using stimulators in the learning lab at LIFT Manufacturing.