MLOV’S YOUTH PROGRAMS

Many Languages One Voice’s Youth Programs serve youth and young adults ages 11-24 in Washington, D.C. Our Youth Programs started as a one week summer camp and have since transformed and grown to encompass a summer program, an after school program, two mentorship programs, a college preparation camp, and student success coaching.

Enrollment in our programs has continued to grow each year. During the 2024-2025 school-year 55 youth enrolled in our after-school program, and 52 youth enrolled in our 5-week summer program. Our students are primarily from Wards 1, 4, and 5. Nearly all of our students attend D.C. public or public charter schools and all are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Through our youth programming, we aim to increase students’ self-confidence, provide tangible and practical steps for life after high school, and create a space where students feel safe and seen.

Student Testimonies

Students do not leave our programs the same way they entered. Bessy, who graduated from high school in June 2025 and just entered The Catholic University of America, started with MLOV in the spring of 2024 through our Mentorship Program. Although she felt shy and quiet, especially in large groups, she decided to join the Summer Program. Throughout the summer, her confidence and comfort gradually grew.

By the end of the summer, she had so impressed the MLOV staff that she won the Most Improved Award. During her senior year, Bessy continued to flourish and take on leadership roles as co-president of High School’s Consejo de Lideragzo (Leadership Council), ultimately leading her to receive the best in class award. She was invited back to work as a Summer Program Instructor Assistant during Summer Program 2025, and is now participating in Talento en Acción, MLOV’s new workforce development program.

Bessy says, “What I like most about MLOV is that I get to meet different types of people. The programs have helped me become more involved and more outgoing as a person. My dreams are to help my community by being directly involved and always achieve any goal that I set.”

Irvin, who also graduated from high school this year and was also a Summer Program Instructor Assistant, is another student whose life has been impacted by MLOV. Though his commute was between 60 to 90 minutes, it was worth it for him. Just a few weeks into the Summer Program last year, he already felt like he had found more of a community at MLOV than he had ever experienced at his high school. He says, “If I had to describe my experience with MLOV in one word, I would say “belonging,” because this program has made me feel like I belong, which my school hasn’t done in three years.” He is currently enrolled at Montgomery College.

We are proud of Bessy and Irvin’s leadership growth. Data from our program surveys show that our programs are making a positive impact on the leadership development and growth of our youth. After the 2025 Summer Program, 86% of our students felt their leadership skills have grown, 93% said their teamwork skills have improved, and 87% felt more prepared for their next school year.

SUMMER PROGRAM RECAP

This summer we hosted a five week, in-person summer program called “Raices y Rutas” (Roots to Routes) with a new curriculum centered around the students' exploration of their cultural roots, history of Washington D.C., and future pathways to careers and leadership after high school. Irvin and Bessy’s stories align with the general student feedback from our Summer 2025 program participants.

The Curriculum

The curriculum challenged students to reflect on traditions, food, clothing, and songs from their culture. Students spent the first two weeks learning in depth about themselves as well as their peers, which cultivated a close knit community where students felt safe to open up about their different lived experiences. After reflecting, students had many opportunities to share their experiences orally through stories, publicly through a class curated museum exhibit, and creatively through drawings, paintings and poems. We even made an effort to provide culturally adept food such as pupusas, arepas, and tequeños, to name a few. After the program, 84% of the participants cited that they learned about new cultures, which met one of our key metrics.

MLOV students touring the Mexican Culture Institute

In the middle of the summer we shifted focus from cultural roots to their current roots in Washington, D.C. In this section, students learned more about the rich and diverse Black and Latino influences on the city. To start, they researched local murals in the neighborhood to understand their cultural significance. Students learned about the Unity mural of 1982 and even made their own present day versions of a Unity Mural. They also dived into the deep history of Mount Pleasant, watching the documentary La Maplesa: An Uprising Remembered and touring the neighborhood to observe the changes over the years. We took them on two local field trips to the MLK Library and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, which is currently housed at the National Museum of American History. Throughout the week we tested their knowledge of DC with fun trivia games. Students overwhelmingly loved learning about DC history, with over 87% saying they strongly liked the topic and many specific comments saying that this was their favorite part of the curriculum.

MLOV group exploring the exhibits at the National Museum of the American Latino

The summer program ended with the students making S.M.A.R.T. goals for the upcoming school year and exploring future career and leadership options. We will continue into the school year program with tracking their goals and planning for the future. We celebrated the close of a successful program by dancing, scrapbooking, and an awards assembly to celebrate all that they accomplished throughout the summer program.

New Initiatives: Family Groups and Clubs

At MLOV, building a community where everyone feels safe, supported and valued is our highest priority. According to our 2025 post-program survey, over 87% of our students felt like they belonged and contributed to making the space safe. In addition, over 95% of students felt like the staff cared about their well-being. In order to promote this community, we launched family groups, which were made up of one student leader and mixed peers of all the grade levels, and clubs. Our goal with family groups was to help students build lasting friendships with new peers throughout the whole summer. These small groups worked together to complete various indoor and outdoor activities, friendly competitions, games, and other challenges. Students cited that the biggest reason they kept returning was because our program was a fun, safe and secure place to be.

Family Groups participating in Cake Decorating Contest

To further build our community, we implemented a phone-free policy during program hours this year. To fill the gap where students would otherwise be on their phones during free time after lunch, we introduced a series of clubs where students spent their time doing a plethora of other activities. Our youth played board games, made friendship bracelets, and learned new hobbies like sewing, crafting, painting and drawing. They practiced new languages and had fun learning new dance skills. We saw an increase in the student’s creativity and a willingness to try something new. 86% of students stated they developed a new hobby or interest this summer and 84% said they expanded their creativity.

Fashion club designing their own textiles

We had a great summer program this year, and our students agreed. 97% said they would be interested in participating again. We will always cherish the memories, growth and cultural exploration from our 2025 Summer Program.

Investing in our youth’s post-secondary success

In addition to increasing self-confidence, leadership, teamwork, and community building, MLOV students also have a better idea of what they want to do after high school. Marcos and Andrés, two current 12th graders, are two student leaders who have been integral to MLOV youth programs over the years. Both also credit MLOV with helping them take steps towards their dreams. In the future, Marcos wants to be a business restaurant owner and Andres wants to be an immigration lawyer, both with the goal to give back to their local communities.

During their 11th grade year, MLOV helped them apply and receive two $10,000 scholarships to go into college. They are both current and previous participants of our Unidos Escalera program and graduates of our first Futuro U College Bootcamp Program. We will continue to support them through their college application process through individual mentorship and the escalera curriculum.

This summer we hosted the first cohort of MLOV’s brand new Futuro U College Bootcamp Program. We had 22 different 11th and 12th grade students enrolled in a two-week college readiness program. The curriculum introduced students to different types of college, such as public, private, small, and liberal arts institutions. It also explored the many different ways to finance college. The program guided them in identifying potential majors and minors and supported them in beginning key college application materials, such as their personal essays. Over 85% of the students agreed that the program helped them understand the various pathways available to them post college and the majority stated they now feel more confident in their ability to reach their post-secondary goals.

MLOV students touring George Washington University

As a part of the program, we also toured two local universities in Washington D.C. Students had the opportunity to tour George Washington University and American University meeting with admissions offices from both places. Students ended the program with a celebration and remarks from a guest speaker encouraging them onto college.

LOOKING AHEAD

Looking ahead, we are excited to launch our next School Year Program in October. We look forward to welcoming back returning students, meeting new ones, and continuing to forge a strong culture of community and support. Especially in this political climate, we are proud to be a place where students want to be and feel like they belong, and we strive to never lose sight of our goal to be a safe and caring space for all who enter. In the fall, we will launch our 2025-2026 After School Program, Escalera college program for 9th-12th graders, as well as our ongoing mentorship programming.

If you are interested in getting involved or supporting any of our programs, feel free to email us at youth@mlovdc.org.

School Year 2024-2025 and Summer 2025 Recap

Communities in Action with MLOV