LA // Session A

Brotherhood Crusade

Jonathan

Themes

  • Internal challenges like motivation and procrastination are the biggest barriers to these young adults.
  • The Brotherhood Crusade provides a number of opportunities for young adults to express their point of view, however if they actually believe those opportunities will create the change they want is unclear
  •  Support as a double edge sword: family support can be good for staying above water, but too much support can create an unhealthy reliance on family to provide everything without having to work for it.

Stories

  • One young adult had a great story around how he uses social media to write inspirational posts for his peers. He stated, "I don't want to better myself alone". This was interesting because most of his top of mind challenges were mostly intrapersonal struggles. It showed how important connecting to others on social media is in his life.

Changes

  • Keep groups larger to build off questions and stories
  • Can we chat about facilitation tips and tricks? I would like another refresher

Susie

Themes

  • While many young adults felt that they could create impact in the local community, influencing bigger political changes at the system / government level felt nearly impossible. 
  • The young adults struggled between providing for themselves in the present (e.g. paying the bills while going to school) and investing in their future (e.g. taking an unpaid internship opportunity to build experience), feeling like they didn't have enough resources to do the latter.
  • They wanted to focus on finding and growing strong leaders in the community--not always about everyone having a voice and drowning in the noise, but having strong representatives from their community to speak on behalf of the greater group. 

Stories

  • One man (forgot his name, sorry) talked about how he voted for state propositions but not the president. He felt like all of the candidates have made racial remarks in the past and couldn't represent his beliefs. Even with a black president who looked like him--he didn't feel like much change had been made and felt like changes on a federal level is almost impossible.
  • Cheyenne helps organize BLM events and described her efforts as "beating her head against the wall," hoping that one day it even creates a small hole that will attract people to want to come and fix the problem. 

Elizabeth

Themes

  • Every teen talked about procrastination and self-motivation being their biggest challenge. Brotherhood Crusade definitely puts emphasis on accountability!
  • They alluded to their families sometimes getting in the way of their success and needing to stand on their own feet to make it.
  • Some of them voted, but felt conflicted about whether it was helpful.
  • One young woman at the table who just received her Ph.d from Pepperdine said this millennial generation wants to vote for someone "like them", i.e., someone who looks like them and came from their situation. Neither presidential candidate fit that bill at all.

Stories

  • Hank talked about how the Brotherhood Crusade always encourages him to introduce himself as you never know who you'll meet and how that connection will help further down the road. Definitely followed a "make friends" mantra. He told a story of meeting someone who works with the Galaxy franchise (big name soccer??? team or organization) and how that spurred a connection to the soccer playing/coaching he is doing now. One of his ideas was how to foster that kind of networking.
  • They agreed with Shanise on the importance of knowing the right people to get a career. Good quote from Chris: "A job is not a career.

Changes

  • Keep groups larger to keep energy gup
  • If working with teens and smaller groups, have back up questions to stimulate conversations when energy flags
  • If it is a small group that knows each other, have them ask each other questions to get deeper into the why behind their answers

Trey

Session 1

  • Positive change in my community needs to start from within.
  • People in power typically can't empathize with my struggle.
  • I take responsibility for my success and for my failures. I am my own worst enemy and my biggest critic.
  • From family members to friends to "associates" I share so much of my time, money and other resources with those around me. 
  • I am trying to build strong, positive personal networks but it's really difficult to weed out the bad influences.
  • I work is inconsistent but when I do work, I break my back...I just end up rewarding  myself instead of saving money.
  • I turn to music to forget about the things that weigh me down.
  • I have alot to say about what's happening in my work, and I find many ways to have my voice heard.

 

Jonathan Ota