King Street Center is lighting the way for a brighter, more equitable future…
…by providing opportunities for youth to discover their talents, find their voice, and dream big while getting the support they need to make it all come true.
Ayan Kassim, now a Senior at Burlington High School, was born in Tanzania. She and her family moved to America when she was 10 years old. Shortly after arriving in Vermont, Ayan found King Street Center.
As an elementary student, Ayan enjoyed the many community outings the afterschool crew would go on weekly. Getting to know the city she just moved to alongside peers and staff she quickly connected with was a welcomed experience. But English was new to her, and that language barrier sometimes felt isolating.
Ayan found a big purple dinosaur, Barney, who become a fast friend. Watching this show was the key she needed to learning English. To this day, Ayan credits Barney and his friends for helping her successfully assimilate to life in America.
By the time Ayan got to middle school, her love for King Street Center was strong. In 8th grade, she was matched with her mentor, Jehan, Owner of Vermont Juice Company, and the two have been close ever since.
Ayan is the 2nd oldest child in her family of 6 siblings. When the pandemic began with everyone locked down at home, Ayan quickly found herself taking on the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings in small living quarters. As most can relate, it was a dark and emotional time. Ayan’s relationship with Jehan was critical when the pandemic hit and life dramatically changed at the blink of an eye. The power of mentorship was there for her, and that made all the difference in her world.
On the heels of the pandemic, Ayan found a very different King Street. Community outings took a long pause. Staff had changed. Virtual learning was a tremendous challenge. School closures threw her right back at home, caring for her siblings and a weight on her shoulders not many of her other peers had. The teen program wasn’t necessarily structured to meet her needs, and the daily activities were more male-dominated and sports-related because more boys were attending programming. Ultimately, she stopped coming to King Street Center.
Even though we didn’t see Ayan for a little bit, she remained closer than ever with Jehan. Most recently, she celebrated her wedding with her. She realized she wants to pursue a path that leads her to travel the globe, and is currently learning Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese, adding to the 5 other languages she already speaks (Somali, Mai Mai, Swahili, Arabic, and English). She began taking classes at Burlington Tech Center where one of her teachers helped her get inspired to learn more about the Federal Bureau of Investigations, or more commonly known as, the FBI.
While Ayan was busy finding herself as the impacts of the pandemic began to wane, King Street Center was on a path to rediscovering and redefining itself too. Thanks to the support of The A.D. Henderson Foundation, the Center embarked upon a yearlong journey of strategic planning, beginning with listening to and learning from over 200 members of our community. From King Street Center youth, families, staff, volunteers, Board Members, and community partners, one need rung loud and true:
The Burlington community needs more equitable access and engaging opportunities for high school students to explore their path for life beyond graduation.
Determined to meet this great need, we immediately split the Teen Program into two. Rather than one program serving both middle and high schoolers, we now have one program serving just middle schoolers, and one solely serving high schoolers. We introduced a new Academic & Career Exploration (ACE) Program, where high schoolers are offered chances to connect with local businesses in industries they may be interested in joining one day, start earning free college credits while still in high school, get support for applying to post-secondary education and trainings, and find nearby workforce development opportunities. Uniquely, and the first of it’s kind that we know of, ACE offers students a stipend to participate so they don’t have to choose between getting a part-time job to help support their families — a reality many of our high schoolers face — and dreaming of their future.
At the start of the school year, Ayan showed up at our front door, and we could not be more thrilled to welcome her back inside. She has been a pivotal voice in helping us build the ACE program for its official January 2024 launch, and took on the opportunity to join our 2nd newest program — Peer Mentoring. The Peer Mentor program matches high schoolers with elementary students to connect onsite every week to read, play games, engage in conversation, and more.
“King Street Center is home. Coming back brings up so many happy memories and how much it’s changed my life.”
Ayan, pictured with her mentee, Miriam, above, is most excited about giving back to her community as a peer mentor. She noted, “I wish I had a mentor when I was in 5th grade. It would have been good to talk to someone, especially someone who had the same skin color as me. My English was bad and if I had someone to talk to that understood me in that way, it would have made life easier. That’s why I’m a peer mentor.”
With her eyes still set on becoming an FBI investigator, King Street Center recently welcomed Congresswoman Becca Balint in for a visit. The Congresswoman had a crucial conversation with our teens around what our government should know about their lives and experiences, and offered support in helping them get to where they might be going. For Ayan, that meant a connection to FBI officials.
“King Street Center is community. Everyone treats everyone nicely, there isn’t any disrespect. It makes me feel safe to be here.”
In a time in our community where safety is of top of mind, programs like King Street Center’s that serve youth in the critical hours of afterschool are more important than ever. All of Ayan’s siblings are growing up right here at King Street Center, and we are so happy to have her back. She is certainly on her way, and to be able to help her build the connections she needs to thrive into adulthood is an opportunity we will not be taking for granted.
