About Rise Leadership

Rise Leadership is Oyate Group’s leadership program for rising high school sophomores and juniors that runs throughout the school year. Rise Leadership inspires participants to become creators, critical thinkers, community leaders and social change makers.

Rise Leadership

A leadership program for high school sophomores and juniors. Our goal is to inspire participants to become creators, critical thinkers, community leaders, and social change makers. Students receive $100 per month for participation.

Program Tracks

Participants meet once a week in small cohorts after school and choose one of two tracks.

  • Mon 4-7p: Design and Technology

  • Tue 4-7p: Visual Arts and Civic Engagement
  • Wed 4-7p: Civic Leadership and Advocacy

  • Thu 4-7p: Business and Entrepreneurship

  • Fri 4-7p: Hangout, project work, access technology

Eligibility Criteria

  1. Applicants must be rising high school sophomores or juniors
  2. Applicants must be available to meet after school once a week in The Bronx.
  3. Applicants must have a valid passport to participate, as international travel is a core part of the program.

Student Outcomes

Artistic:

Students learn skills to produce high quality artwork that is socially relevant, with the aim of impacting and changing their communities and greater society.

Academic Self Efficacy: 

Creative problem solving through art and technology encourages a culture of questioning and critical inquiry. The process also sets clear goals with an expected outcome that builds confidence and motivation for school participation and attendance.

Social-Emotional:

Students learn a sense of purpose, construct group identity, have a sense of belonging and opportunities to learn more about the world.

Critical Consciousness:

Students become researchers, they learn how to engage with their peers and the larger community. This process of meaningful learning and exploration of thematic issues strengthens students’ ability to better understand their lived realities and tell their own stories.

Global Glimpse

Oyate Group partners with Global Glimpse, a nonprofit organization that provides powerful travel experiences focused on service learning, cultural immersion and leadership development for high school students, to expose Rise Leadership participants to the world. The summer before their senior year, Rise Leadership participants can apply for a 14-day international travel experience to either Costa Rica or Panama. This trip focuses on service learning, cultural immersion, and leadership development. 

Transformation

Transformation A Rise Leadership Youth Art Showcase

Is an exhibition that aims to highlight the creative talent and unique perspective of young artists in the Bronx. The exhibition combines work from high school sophomores and juniors currently enrolled in Oyate Group’s Arts & Civic Engagement and Design & Technology programs, who attend weekly workshops for art-making, community building, and leadership development. From grappling with issues of identity and culture, to confronting systemic injustices such as criminalization, gentrification and advocating for social change, each work offers viewers a glimpse into the diverse perspectives, stories and ambitions of young people living in the Bronx.

AR/VR Projects

Students also explored the emerging field of XR or Extended Reality video production, and used   augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications to create their own immersive experiences.  Using ”I Am” poems as a script, the Design and Technology cohort used devices such as Insta360° virtual reality cameras to create interactive films, and applications such as augmented reality facial tracking and Assemblr Studio to build interactive avatars and story worlds.