This summer, I had the privilege of helping lead two sessions of the USC Annenberg Third Space Youth Institute, welcoming high school students from across California to campus for a week of growth, learning, and discovery. We hosted students from Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and Coachella Valley. These students arrived with bold ideas, big dreams, and powerful voices that too often go unheard.
For many of them, it was their first time stepping foot on a college campus. For some, it was their first time away from home. Nearly all came here unsure of what to expect. But by the end of the week, something had shifted. I saw it happen in the way they stood taller during group presentations and in the quiet confidence that crept into their voices when they got on stage.
Each session was built around the ACE-IT framework for problem solving, with speakers and instructors providing their own perspective on how they apply soft skills in their work. These are the skills that research tells us are critical for success in school, work, and life. But more than that, they’re skills our students already carry—just waiting for someone to name them, nurture them, and help them apply them with purpose.
What most people don’t know is how close we came to not being able to offer the Third Space Youth Institute at all.
In June, two weeks before our program with LA County began, a federal funding freeze put countless educational programs at risk across the country, including ours. Government grants that fund underserved students, English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, after-school programs, and the staff to support them were suddenly frozen. For programs like the Third Space Youth Institute, which are often free for students and serve communities historically excluded from access, that kind of disruption isn’t a small inconvenience; it threatens the very existence of the program.
The freeze was eventually lifted, but the uncertainty left a mark. Programs like this are powered by committed people, strong partnerships, and a belief in the students we serve. But they also rely on stable infrastructure, consistent funding, and systems that don’t leave us scrambling at the last minute to protect what we’ve built. Even the most mission-driven, community-centered work can’t run on passion alone. It needs the resources to match the need.
The significance was amplified when the two institutes came together, back-to-back in late June and early July. Over those two weeks, students explored public speaking, digital storytelling, college readiness, and media literacy through our ACE-IT framework. These essential skills are what they’ll need to succeed in college, their careers, and community spaces. Our job is to name them, develop them, and help students apply them with clarity and confidence.
The Third Space workshops focused on communication, leadership, digital storytelling, and college readiness. Students practiced public speaking, created personal branding statements, debated social issues, and shared stories from their own lives.
The students collaborated in teams, got feedback from mentors, and took on challenges designed to stretch their creativity and confidence. Me and my fellow student mentors shared stories, worked alongside students, and we reminded each other that leadership isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about knowing how to listen, grow, and stay grounded in your values.
At the end of the week for both programs, each group gave a presentation. And I really mean it when I say that they blew us away. From presentations on the negative effects of artificial intelligence to spreading awareness on relevant issues such as immigration and mental health, they brought ideas to life with insight and passion. Students shared their own stories and connections to their topic, and presented it through not only a vulnerable lens, but an insightful one as well.
Programs like this one are the bridge between potential and opportunity. But we can’t keep building that bridge if the foundation keeps shifting beneath us. We need consistent support, dependable funding, and a shared commitment to equity that goes beyond statements.
As the summer wraps up, I’m filled with pride for the students, and for everyone who made these weeks possible. I'm also aware that the work isn’t done.
I’m proud of what our students accomplished. I’m proud of our team, our partners, and everyone who made these sessions possible in a year when nothing was guaranteed. But I also think we need to be honest: this work is at risk when educational funding becomes politicized, unstable, or treated as optional. Every delay or disruption in support puts these transformative moments further out of reach for the students who need them most.
And yet, we keep showing up. Because when young people have space to lead, they rise to meet the moment. This summer, they did that and more.
We’re already looking ahead to next year, and we’re grateful for what we made possible together. When it comes to the future, we are committed to ensuring that no future cohort ever has to wait and wonder if their week on campus will be canceled by a frozen grant or a broken system. They deserve more than uncertainty. They deserve the mic, the stage, and the support to shape what comes next!