Give Merit: Empowering Educated World Class Citizens & World Changers

Imagine, as a high school student, how it would feel to work with design industry professionals who took you seriously. Imagine sharpening your design thinking skills—ideation, planning, prototyping, iteration—all key skills that will drive your college success and that you’ll use for the rest of your life. Imagine digging deep into critical thinking and entrepreneurship with mentors. Imagine developing an idea and standing in front of over 200 people and pitching that idea without notes. Imagine interning with Detroit institutions like the Detroit Lions. Now imagine doing it with a cohort of your friends supported by committed, caring facilitators who’ll be with you all four years of high school. And each year, rising together to the challenge of a new, bigger project. What would it feel like to see yourself as an educated world-class citizen, a world changer?

The youth in Give Merit’s FATE program could tell you. Each workshop begins and ends with a jubilant affirmation: “I am an educated world class-citizen! I am a world changer!” High school youth from the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit spend four years in a cohort that immerses them in an intensive hands-on blend of project-based learning, character development, career exposure, and mentorship. The program model emphasizes the value of education and its role in achieving long-term career and personal goals. 

It’s hard to hear the statistic that 1 in 4 Detroit high school students will not graduate on time. Give Merit wanted to change that for its students. Their very first cohort graduated all of its 22 students. Each cohort member that graduates from high school and is accepted into a college or university receives a $5,000 scholarship toward their continuing education. After high school, youth enter an alumni program.

Since Give Merit began their work in 2012, they’ve continued to lean into their values and vision. When the need arose to move programming online, it took a lot of planning and creativity. The shift was highly disruptive but staff at Give Merit were committed to making sure that youth continued to feel the deep level of connection that the program fostered. The organization focused on working week by week, making certain that youth were at the heart of their planning and that students felt supported, heard, and connected. Give Merit developed a priority map that centered youth, and each staff member was given responsibility for key pieces. Staff met and planned every week, evaluating, re-prioritizing, and iterating as needed to remain true to their vision.

Two key questions surfaced—how to keep capstone projects going in a virtual space and how to best utilize resources? 

Realizing that the landscape of their work and the needs of youth were shifting during COVID-19, the Give Merit team worked with a priority map. This ensured that youth remained supported, heard, and connected. Throughout, staff interrogated their choices: Is what we’re doing aligned with our mission? What can we do best? What services can we provide? What services shouldn’t we provide? What are others doing and how can we connect our families to them? As they reviewed each week, the team continued to adapt and shift to meet youth where they were.

The Give Merit staff and youth began rethinking their capstone projects. The trajectory which was scaffolded from 9th to 12th grade—design skill-building, idea development, event creation, internship—managed to retain its structure, even though it looked different in a virtual space. This year, the cohorts storyboarded a commercial idea, created a product collection and website splash page, designed a virtual event, and made a video and PowerPoint presentation to the Detroit Lions organization, along with senior advising and college transition team members. 

Even though it has been a challenging transition, it has also been a time of reflection and deep thinking. “This time is allowing us to think through some really vital systems and processes that will only make future programming stronger,” shared Kuhu Saha, Give Merit’s Executive Director.

We look forward to seeing Give Merit’s youth thrive as educated world-class citizens, as world changers.

What have been some takeaways from this experience?

• Take it one day at a time. Thinking too far ahead will take your focus away from the work.
• Don’t be afraid to interrogate your ideas:  Is what we’re doing aligned with our mission? What can our organization do best? What services should we not provide? What services are others providing and how can we connect our youth and families to those?

Want to know more?

Give Merit envisions a world where every child is valued and has opportunities to be successful in life. A world where a child’s FATE is determined by their character and not judgments based on their skin color or socioeconomic background.

To learn more about Give Merit or to support their work through volunteering or donations, visit their website, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Our thanks to Give Merit Executive Director, Kuhu Saha, for taking the time to share their experience with us.