Most students are receiving institutional scholarships ranging from several thousand a year to full-rides. And many have received outside scholarships that can be used at the school of their choice. Here is a sampling of DYF’s top successes:

• Clarimar C. was one of 17 students in the northeast to receive the Metro PCS Scholarship, and one of 5 students in NYC to receive the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation scholarship. She will be attending NYU with full scholarship.
• Marcus O. won the renowned Posse Scholarship and will be attending Dickinson College with a full-ride, pre-collegiate training, on-campus support, and career services and professional development upon graduation.
• Kwan H. was accepted to the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY—a prestigious program that is 100% free. Additionally, every student in the program received a free laptop and $7,500 per year to use to enrich their education. Top students from all over the country apply to this coveted program and only 20% are admitted.
• Bella Li was accepted to the prestigious Barnard College
• Crystal L. was recently accepted into Manhattannville College with a full scholarship.
• Erica M. has been accepted to many top tier schools and received at least a half scholarship to each school, not including financial aid.

We expect that successes like these will keep rolling in. Congratulations to our DYF seniors and to our DYF staff for a job well done!

The highlight of the day was an NDHS alumni panel of current college students who shared personal insights about the college process, including what they wish they knew before they applied. Their honesty and forthrightness was inspiring and grounding for parents–some of whom are just now beginning to think about the college process, and others for whom college is just months away.

“The Future is Now” was the first of it’s kind at NDHS, and–based on it’s success–it will be a yearly fixture for parents and families seeking to learn more about  college and the importance of the years leading up to it.

All COMMUNITY of UNITY programs are based on a belief that each of us has a unique SONG that we will try to learn and share during our lifetime. This SONG, which lives in our heart, is beautiful, and powerful, and rich, and it is perfect. Our lives and all of the experiences that define it are simply opportunities for us to learn and share our SONG as fully as possible through the choices that we make. Specifically, choices we make using seven special instruments:

It’s true that the love landscape has changed, especially for young people. Nowadays, instead of writing letters, we send text messages, e-mails, and post Facebook status updates.

But romance can survive in this crazy time, if we want it to. Romance is simply an authentic expression of affection for another person in a way that is not directly sexual. That can be anything from verbally voicing how one feels, to writing poetry or letters, to giving gifts, or creating special experiences like cooking someone dinner.

In my work with young people, I’ve noticed young males expressing themselves with a certain toughness or bravado that seems to inhabit a limited and stereotypical view of masculinity. And unfortunately I see more and more teenage girls using their language and bodies in an aggressive, stereotypically masculine way. At the same time, the more “girly girls” continue to exist, but it all feels very cliché and based on imagery absorbed from outside sources rather than an honest self-expression.

Like adults, young people learn from the information in their environment: their peers, the movies, what is modeled in their families and communities. If we’re going to have the conversation about sex and STDs, should we include an openness to discuss romance and relationships as well? Perhaps an honest interest in a young person’s feelings and their expression can highlight that there is more to relationships than just sex.

Have a conversation with the young person in your life. If they are in a relationship or seem to have their eye on a special someone, ask them to articulate what it is about the person that they like. How does it make them feel? If they resist, try describing the way you feel or have felt about a current or past relationship, and how you’ve express that.

The times have changed and so have our methods of communications. And adult expectations of teenagers, relationships and sex have changed over time. But there continues to be something very special about the way we express ourselves in the intimate relationships all of us have and hope for, not only for adults, but for those of us who are just starting out.

By: Eric Komoroff

Clarimar has yet to make a decision about which college she will attend in the fall. She has already been accepted to Manhattan College and Rider University, but it’s still early, and we expect many more acceptances in the next few months. Congratulations Clarimar–keep living your SONG!

The award ceremony is tonight, Friday, January 18^th at the Harvard Club in midtown Manhattan.

YELC Multicultural Support Group participants show off their “Passports for the Lunch Club”

On January 3^rd, 2013 the YELC Multicultural Support Group at the New Design Middle School was launched. The purpose: increase awareness and sensitivity towards the various cultures represented by the student body, and encourage students to be open to the myriad of perspectives and experiences in the world, while finding value in their own personal identity.

In light of recent and ongoing violence between various ethnic and religious groups worldwide, the middle school program will explore the effectiveness of celebrating diversity at a young age and consciously addressing cultural awareness in a controlled but comfortable, semi-informal lunch-time environment.

The project will be conducted across six, 45-minute lunch meetings. Each meeting will center around a different topic related to multiculturalism. At the end of the six sessions, a report will be created which will include observations and outcomes.

Program participants have thus far engaged in two-sessions worth of discussions and activities to assist in these goals, and the feedback thus far has been positive and encouraging. Stay tuned for more updates on the programs progress!