City Spotlights Teen Leadership program empowers students to use voices for change
BOSTON - It's a summer job unlike any other.
The Boch Center's City Spotlights Teen Leadership program gives Boston teenagers a voice to spark change.
Over the past six weeks, about three dozen teens have used music, art, dance and acting, to spread a positive message across the community.
The theme of this year's program is fighting stereotypes.
The teens performed their work throughout the city in flash mobs and at workshops in community centers. It all culminates with a big showcase on Wednesday, August 16th, at the Shubert Theatre.
"It's a really exciting opportunity for the teens to be able to be on a professional stage with professional production values, and showcasing all the work that they've been working so hard on all summer," said vice president and senior director of education at the Boch Center, Corey Evans.
The teens involved have seen first-hand how using music can help get their message across to younger kids.
"We're taking something they like and putting a message into it. They're most likely to remember it more than if they were just dictated and taught to them like it a regular classroom lesson setting." 15-year-old Raheema Civil told WBZ-TV.
Elijah Byrd, who returned for his second summer with the program, said this year's theme at City Spotlights is an important one.
"When you learn to love one another and learn about each other's differences, we can be able to make something beautiful with that," Byrd said.
Evans calls the teens involved in the program the future leaders in Boston, saying they all have something special to offer the city.
You can see it for yourself. The showcase at the Shubert is free and open to the public. It's starts at 5:30 p.m. For more information, click here.