Kumanaan Xidhiidho, Malaayiin Fursadood: Sannad Dugsiyeedka 2024-2025 oo leh Guul Mashruuc
This past school year, 17,000+ middle and high school students in Minneapolis and Mankato along with their families dreamed big, ignited possibilities, and grew exponentially through Project Success programming driven by our proven manhajka DIG. Here are some of the many ways that young people connected to their purpose this year with Project Success.
Aqoon isweydaarsiyo
“Project Success is a great opportunity to make new connections and to motivate you to achieve greater things.”
– Project Success Student
Guided 17,000+ students to explore who they are and where they are headed
17,446 students at 22 schools in Minneapolis and Mankato participated in monthly in-class workshops. Project Success’ team of 11 Facilitators planned curriculum and guided students to build self-awareness, explore their interests, and imagine their futures in a total of 4,510 workshops in just 9 months!
Partnered with teachers to connect learning to purpose
By hosting monthly in-class workshops, weaving our curriculum into their lesson plans, and collaborating with PS Facilitators, our 224 partner teachers helped students connect what they’re learning in school to who they are and who they want to become – deepening classroom relationships and creating space for meaningful conversation.
Fanka
“My child’s confidence has skyrocketed since joining the musical, and I’ve seen their confidence grow in other areas of their life.”
– Project Success Parent
Engaged 7,600 students and families to spark connection and discussion through live theater
Through Project Success, more than 7,600 students and family members in Minneapolis and Mankato experienced live theater together — sometimes for the first time — strengthening family connections and sparking discussion.
Brought students and their teachers out of the classroom and into live theater
Over the course of the school year, 4,383 students and 325 teachers participated in field trips to see live theater and artist residencies — increasing access to the arts during the school day and acting as a springboard for creativity and critical conversations in class. Teachers are given the opportunity to work themes and lessons from these shows into their classroom curriculum – connecting arts to life and learning.
Inspired 2,495 students through dance and storytelling
This school year, Project Success partnered with local dance company, Collide Theatrical Dance, to provide 2,495 students and teachers at 13 different schools with day-long arts residencies focused on using dance to discover and express ideas and concepts relevant to their daily lives. Learn more about one of these Residencies here – Collide Dance Residency.
Empowered 270 middle school students to build confidence and connections on and off-stage
270 students found their voices — on stage and behind the scenes — through Project Success Middle School Musicals. Through an intense 9-week rehearsal-to-performance schedule, students at 4 different Minneapolis schools worked together with professional artists to perform a musical for their peers, families and larger community. Through the experience, they made friends, gained confidence and teamwork skills, and experienced success – setting the stage for their lives to come. See what shows they performed.
Shared lights, lyrics, & life lessons on the national stage
Project Success was featured in a segment of Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids Edition. This feature highlighted Project Success’ first-ever musical production at Andersen Middle School, where students demonstrated the social-emotional learning they gained through our DIG Methodology.
Immersed 50 students in collegiate marching band to inspire future possibilities
50 Mankato middle school students spent the day at Minnesota State University – Mankato (MNSU) campus for a music clinic through MNSU’s “Maverick for a Day” experience — a first-of-its-kind partnership between Project Success and the university’s Athletic Bands department. Students toured the campus, learned pep band songs, practiced marching, and imagined themselves as college musicians. The experience culminated with the students performing at an MNSU Basketball game alongside the pep band — cheered on by 108 family members in the stands.
Safarro
“I learned that there are so many resources that can help me to be successful as a college student”
– Project Success Student
Fostered connection and outdoor learning for 692 students
River Adventure Days (RADs) are full day field trips where students embark on a canoe trip at a local park, engage in outdoor survival skills, and learn conservation activities such as river water testing. Through RADs, PS opened new perspectives and ways to thrive for 692 students, in partnership with Friends of the Boundary Waters.
Getting out of their comfort zones – 217 students headed into the wilderness
This summer, PS brought 217 students on week-long canoe trips through the Boundary Waters and Apostle Islands. These immersive trips inspired confidence, resilience, teamwork and a deeper sense of independence in students as they explored the wilderness.
Welcomed 163 students and families to community and possibilities through winter adventures
This winter, 127 students and family members attended Winter Adventure Day together at Theodore Wirth Park where they experienced snow tubing, face painting, ultimate frisbee, cross-country skiing and more. PS also hosted its first-ever Winter Adventure Day in Mankato where 36 students and family members participated in fire-making, a winter obstacle course, and kite making on a snowy day in January.
Connected 88 students to career possibilities through workplace tours
Through PS career tours, students tour workplaces, learn about the types of careers available to them beyond the most visible roles, and get firsthand experience of a workplace, profession, or industry to help them dream about and plan for their futures. This year, PS opened possibilities for 88 students through 7 different career tours with Delta TechOps, MN Twins, and Vikings Entertainment Network.
Sparked future plans for 843 students through college tours
Project Success opened 843 students’ postsecondary options through 27 college tours, helping them connect their passions to future pathways, learn how to make conscious choices, and reduce their uncertainty about what’s next. Our college tours offer students a chance visit a campus, practice asking questions and making decisions, and learn about the college experience firsthand from current students. Each college tour also includes a workshop to help students dig deep into what they want from campus life, while practical sessions on admissions and financial aid make the path to college feel less intimidating.
Engaged 265 students and families in STEM through “Science is All of Us”
This winter, Project Success welcomed 265 students and family members to envision the possibilities in STEM by participating in “Science is All of Us” at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Over 4 different weekends, PS students and families experiences the museum’s programs featuring activities, in-person events, performances, and exhibitions that celebrated our shared ancestry and diverse ways of being in STEM.
Brought 11 students out of the classroom and into the world to Washington DC
This spring, Project Success — in partnership with the Minnesota Vikings, and Tradehome Shoes — brought 11 high school students representing each MPS high school to visit Washington DC and explored history, identity, and purpose. Read about their amazing trip.
Machadka
“As a parent, I’ve experienced firsthand, my daughter’s participation with Project Success. She feels an authentic sense of belonging and inclusion in all Project Success activities.”
– Project Success Parent
Awarded students 270 certificates through hands-on learning in 9 Institute courses
147 students earned a total of 270 certificates of learning at the Project Success Institute, gaining real-world skills, expanding their ideas of what’s possible, and building confidence to pursue their goals. This school year, the Project Success Institute offered 9 different certificate courses:
- Bike Tech
- Filim sameynta
- Cunto karinta ku habboon Miisaaniyadda
- Dubo
- Culinary Adventures
- Qoraal Hal abuur leh
- Gabdhaha Saamaynta leh
- Music Across Minnesota
- Website Portfolio Building
Through each course, students worked with PS facilitators and community members to learn ways of being, learning and doing the will prepare them for life after high school.
Partnered with 27 community experts to provide real-world experience in the Institute
The Institute collaborated with 23 national and local chefs and bakers, and 4 content experts in bike repair, filmmaking, and website-building to enhance students’ learning experience and help them envision their futures. They brought unique perspectives and practical skills to Institute certificate courses, teaching students along the way.
Gathered 15 students innovators to shape future programming
Throughout the year, Project Success worked with 15 students in Student Innovator Gatherings designed to shape future programming and the student experience at the PS Institute. The student innovators — all participants of one or more Institute certificates courses — shared their feedback, ideas and suggestions, all of which are critical to shaping programming that meets students where they are at.
Immersed 81 students in “Day of” hands-on learning intensives
The Institute designed and hosted 5 “Day of” experiences with 81 student participants in partnership with Gear Up, a program at Minneapolis Public Schools designed to enhance students’ learning. Through these immersive, hands-on experiences, students learned cooking, baking or filmmaking — helping them discover the possibilities, try something new, and build real-world skills.
Facilitated a course in Spanish for 13 students exploring financial literacy
A Project Success Facilitator expressed to the Institute team that she had a cohort of 13 Spanish-speaking students who were interested in learning about money management. The team created ‘Real Life Finance en Español’ and hosted it at South High School for those students.
Expanded access to hands-on learning in tech, opening the Best Buy Teen Tech Center
In January, Project Success, in partnership with Best Buy, officially opened the Twin Cities’ newest Best Buy Teen Tech Center — expanding students’ access to exploration, mentorship, creative expression, and career-connected learning at the PS Headquarters campus on 1 Groveland Terrace, and widening the PS Institute umbrella of programs. Since then, 45 students have joined the center as members, regularly taking the PS shuttle after school to drop in for 3D- and screen-printing, sewing, recording, photography, drumming, gaming, virtual reality, and more!
Guided 9 students to develop career-readiness skills and human-centered design
This year, a cohort of 9 high school students participated in the Best Buy Teen Tech Center Career Pathways Program at Project Success. Throughout the year, they worked with their PS facilitator to build skills and tools needed to be successful in the workforce – they worked on their personal brands, built resumes, and learned durable skills needed to be successful in a job. In partnership with Project Invent, and with the support of their PS and Project Invent facilitators, they also worked together on a human-centered design project, which they pitched at “Demo Day” in California with other teams throughout the country. Read the full story here. This summer, students have been participating in internships at various businesses, including Best Buy.
Guided 7 students to earn dual credit in healthcare, CNA certification, and internships through new career pathways programming
This spring, 7 Mankato-area high school students earned their Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certifications – and high school and college credit – through the Career Pathways program designed by Project Success, in partnership with Central High School and South Central College. This summer, they are gaining hands-on experience in nursing assistant internships at a local nursing home, with the opportunity to stay for full employment and scholarships to further their healthcare education.
Project Success Highlights
“Thank you for caring about us, inviting us to shows, taking us on field trips, and letting us learn new things!”
– Project Success Student
A Day of community with the Minnesota Twins – celebrating 21 years of Fielding Dreams
In May, Project Success brought 1,386 students and families to Target Field for the Fielding Dreams event with the Minnesota Twins. This marks 21 years of the partnership with the Minnesota Twins and it was a memorable evening for all who attended. Read about the event.
Climbing to new heights at Project Success headquarters
Project Success celebrated the opening of a new elevator at our building in Minneapolis. This marks the culmination of years of renovations and makes the PS headquarters now fully accessible for all. The new elevator now connects three floors of the Project Success headquarters which includes three newly renovated multi-use student spaces.
