TRUE NORTH YOUTH PROGRAM
name + ROLE
Vivian Russell, Executive Director and Co-Founder
years + grant amounts
2013 - 2023, $5,000 each year.
WORK in San Miguel County
We serve high school students in San Miguel and West Montrose County, so our in-school programs take place in Telluride, Norwood, and Nucla High Schools. Our out-of-school programs take place in various community based locations all along our watershed. We have an office in Lawson Hill, a teen center and office in Naturita, and coming this year, an office at Norwood High School.
favorite projectS
Top of mind is our newest endeavor, our Teen Center in Naturita which opened in January of this year has been a great resource for our students and has helped accomplish True North and JFK’s shared mission of forming connections and community along our watershed.
Our college access and career readiness programming has such significant long term outcomes that are so visible, and that students come back to us long after graduation and report back on, so I would say that's my favorite. and we couldn't do that year round work without the support of JFK.
memorable momentS
Graduation and scholarship award season of course is a very memorable highlight and culmination of so much hard work on the part of the students. Seeing them walk across the stage, watching the students we have been working with throughout high school receive their diploma as well as receive funding to pursue higher education from True North as well as many other community organizations is a very moving moment.
A simple but impactful moment is seeing students gather together at the teen center, use the kitchen to cook up a meal, then enjoy the comfortable family-room style downstairs to watch a movie, play games, make arts and crafts, and just generally relax and spend time together. Seeing the loneliness, isolation, and mental health struggles many students experience during and after the pandemic, it’s impactful to see that True North has provided a space where teens can gather and enjoy simple wholesome fun like drinking chamomile tea and doing a puzzle.
lessonS learned
Participation in some out-of-school programs can be challenging to coordinate with participants. One of our biggest lessons is following up multiple times with student, and parents and using all the various tools and vehicles of communication in order to engage participants and distribute information. We use texting, calling, emails, facebook messenger, and we are even looking into an app to streamline all the information and opportunities, so stay tuned!
Another big lesson is that programs do not have to be big undertakings or excursions to far away places to be adventurous and exciting for the students. Many of our best programs have happened right in our backyard, like taking a group of students to hike Bear Creek, who had lived in Telluride all their life but had never gone. Or organizing a paddle boarding and swimming day at Little Nature Park in Naturita, which was a huge success, and just as much fun for participants as our wilderness rafting adventure.
Extra fun details
This year, 100% of the seniors we worked with graduated high school with a plan and path to follow into the workforce or post-secondary education. We awarded $56,000 in college and trade school scholarships this year, more than double our previous year amount, to 24 local high schoolers. Among our scholarship recipients, we have a student planning to study astrophysics at an Ivy League institution, another hoping to achieve her dream of becoming a mortician, others hoping to become engineers, farriers, filmmakers, beauticians, and more. Our first Skyler Kelly Memorial Scholarship recipient graduated college from CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, becoming just the second Latino male out of Telluride High School to graduate college.
follow US
Follow us on instagram @truenorthyouthprogram and on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Eugine Szeto
