In May, students and their families gathered at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in celebration of the completion of Media Lab's 12-week after-school "foundation" program. A cohort from Springfield High Schools, a cohort from Dean Technical Vocational High School in Holyoke, and a group from the Care Center in Holyoke completed the program this spring.  This was the first session to expand to more than one group, and students completed a wealth of audio work that included commentaries and feature pieces. Throughout the spring session, students in the Alumni Program also came in and worked on individual pieces. 

The most exciting thing to come out of the latest session was the launch of the NEPR Media Lab Podcast.  A bi-weekly production featuring audio produced by Media Lab students, our podcasts can be found on Apple Podcasts and at nepr.net/medialab. The podcasts offer an opportunity for listeners to engage with the students as they journey through a variety of commentaries, features and self-reflection.  

 

Download the Media Lab Podcast here and catch up on the first 5 episodes!

Media Lab is accepting applications for its fall session. If you know a young person interested in the program, the application form can be found at nepr.net/medialab.

The summer is off to an exciting start! NEPR Media Lab is embarking on a new initiative for the summer that will consider two strong objectives: community outreach and advanced training for alumni students seeking to further their journalism skills.

 

Media Lab's summer schedule consists of three partnerships that embody several vital components of community engagement.  

 

Twice a week, NEPR Media Lab travels to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where the team runs the Critical Reflections component of Upward Bound's summer institute. Upward Bound is a college prep program serving students from Springfield's High School of Commerce. The summer institute provides 35-40 students enrolled in the program the opportunity to take courses while living on campus at UMass Amherst for six weeks over the summer. Upward Bound students take courses in Math, English, Science, a language, and a critical reflection component that entails life skills, self-empowerment and critical literacy.  Media Lab Director Carlos McBride and a team of five Media Lab Alumni works directly with the Upward Bound students facilitating basic recording, interviewing and editing exercises. This partnership engages our Alumni to develop teaching skills and hone their ability to produce a commentary and feature pieces.

Media Lab is also partnering with Gardening The Community (GTC) this summer. Located in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts, Gardening the Community is a food justice organization engaged in youth development, urban agriculture and sustainable living to build healthy and equitable communities.  GTC operates a training program created for youth from around the Mason Square neighborhood and beyond to grow fruits and vegetables on vacant and abandoned lots. Youth receive a stipend and are taught principles of urban sustainable living and urban agriculture. The food that is grown is sold at the Mason Square Farmers Market, local restaurants, and bodegas (corner stores).  Youth also bring food home to their families.  

Media Lab meets with young people involved with GTC two to three times a week.  The premise of this partnership is to have students from GTC show our Media Lab Alumni the process they go through to cultivate the produce they grow. The Alumni will develop pieces out of that exchange.  In addition, the Alumni students will develop a feature piece with selected students and a possible commentary, while showing the students from GTC how to record, and edit audio.  The process becomes a cycle of community teaching, with both groups of students sharing and facilitating with each other.

The third partnership Media Lab is involved with this summer is with The Vanguards 413

- a group of community activists who came together to fill the needs of those young folks who are not engaged in structured activity; i.e. after school programs, summer programs, sports team, camp, etc. The Vanguards 413 has been active since 2014 and is responsible for a number of free services to young folks in urban communities. This summer the agenda entails a Family softball game and a number of city park clean ups. Our Alumni team will document the narratives of some of the members of The Vanguards 413 and will work with the youth in the community to develop shorter commentaries. Interested in seeing the Vanguard 413 in action? They're hosting a Family Day on August 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Magazine Park, 83 Magazine Street in Springfield! 

And finally, we're thrilled to announce that Keisha Green, Assistant Professor of Secondary English Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at UMass Amherst, and member of the NEPR Foundation Board, has been tapped to chair the Media Lab Advisory Board which is being formed this summer to help shape the work we do at Media Lab.  The advisory board will include community members, five college faculty, high school administrators and Media Lab alumni students. If you're interested in learning more about the advisory board, please contact Media Lab director Carlos McBride at  [email protected].

 

Have a question about Media Lab? Contact Carlos McBride at  [email protected] or 413-735-6629.

NEPR.net | EMAIL