Project VOYCE

Short article about Project VOYCE and a presentation we recently did as part of the P-20 speaker series.

http://www.ucdenver.edu/faculty_staff/stories-events/ourstories/Pages/ProjectVOYCE.aspx

Five years ago I was expelled from my middle school and sent to an alternative school where I met the teacher that has made all the difference. When my world was turned upside down in 2004, due to the loss of my older brother, I began to lose control of myself and my future.  I hated school, I hated authority, and I hated any person who tried to tell me how I should live my life. I had no goals in life or ambition for a positive future. I was one leap away from walking down a road I couldn’t turn back from…until I met Ms. Montoya.  She was the first teacher I ever built a relationship with because she understood where I was coming from.  She could see the person I really was instead of the girl I was pretending to be. Mr. Losh was the next person to impact me in a positive way, because I had also never built a relationship with a principal before, and he welcomed me with open arms and a slap in the face! Haha. Not literally, but he has always told me what I needed to hear to get myself in check. Two people changed my entire view on education, and then I found Project VOYCE.

Once I began to change my view on life and education, I was offered a job a Project VOYCE. At the time I never knew what student voice was, I never knew that I was a leader, or that I could use my voice to make a difference in many people’s lives. I also never knew that this would be the best job I could ever have at my age. Project VOYCE opened my eyes to an aspect on life that I wouldn’t give up for anything.  I have learned so many skills that will be crucial in my future, and I have many years of background knowledge that will help me in my career. I want to be teacher so I can make the difference that I had in my life. I am taking the opportunity to be the change that I want to see in all the other young people out there who are lost.  I made the change for myself, and I will be the change that this society needs to get our education system on the right track. To be continued…

-Shelby Gonzales Parker

Here is Project VOYCE on Youtube with a 2 minute video created last week by 16 year old PV leader Samantha Lobato. It is the PV application to present a workshop at a national summit on youth in education put on by the US Department of Education.

UPDATE: Project VOYCE was selected! Kudos to Samantha for her great work. We do however still need help. In the words of our director Brian Barhaugh,

“This is a great opportunity to get our work on the national stage, but it does not come with funding to get us there.  All three schools are willing to help out to get one of their youth there, however we will still need about $1,000 to cover costs.  If you or anyone you know is inclined to help Project VOYCE get to Washington please let us know as soon as possible.”

If you want to help out just click on the Paypal donate button on the sidebar. Thanks for the support!

Dear Friends and Colleagues of Project VOYCE ,

It’s as if the new young leaders at Project VOYCE were immune to bad news. While the presses keep churning out dire circumstances for our youth in our schools, while funding shortages abound, the youth of Project VOYCE have stood up against the tide that bears down upon them.

The purpose of this post is to convince you to join them. Here are 16 reasons why they deserve your support and proof that, if you do support them, they will make you proud. This is what 25 inner-city Denver Project VOYCE (PV) youth leaders have accomplished in 12 months:

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