One Dickinson College Senior is working to show students that education doesn’t have to end outside of the classroom.

After months of preparation, Oanh-Nhi Nguyen ’13 launched the new youth leadership and mentorship program L.E.A.D. (Learn, Empower, Act and Define) last week. The program, which is run in partnership with the YWCA Carlisle Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services of Cumberland County, hopes to empower children to prevent physical or emotional violence.

Nguyen and 24 other Dickinson students will visit five different schools and programs for at-risk youth in Cumberland County once a week this semester to discuss topics like gender, race, culture, violence, media and cyber-bullying.

“It is really amazing to see a group of passionate people who work together so well and who devote their time and energy for such a humble goal,” said Nguyen.

One of the mentors who began his volunteer work this week after an intensive training is Andrew Hill ’13.

“It is a great chance,” he says, “but it is also a huge responsibility.”

Over the course of 10 weeks, the students involved in the program will visit children from fifth, eighth and eleventh grades in their schools.

“I am very much looking forward to the aha-moments, when you can see in the eyes of the kids that they got it,” said Hill. “That is just magical.”

Although both Nguyen and Hill will graduate soon, they hope that the program will continue in the future.

“I really wish that we will be able to expand to more schools, recruit more mentors and maybe even spread the idea to other colleges in the United States,” said Nguyen. “Mentoring and empowering youth is really needed in any community.”

For more information on the program, please contact Oanh-Nhi Nguyen at [email protected].