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Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with over 30 unique charismatic young people as they prepare to begin a year of service with City Year Bay Area. During this time, I watched them boldly step into the rigorous learning experience of City Year’s Service Leadership Institute, an intensive training experience designed to prepare them for the year ahead. I also joined them for our annual Corps Member retreat to in the Santa Cruz mountains and I witnessed their bravery as they climbed to new heights (quite literally—!) and learned the power of teamwork.

Watching this group show up—curious, courageous, willing to try something new—has reminded me just how deeply our success as a nation depends on what we invest in the next generation.

It’s also brought me back to my own journey with City Year, where I served in Philadelphia in 2008–2009. While I was at Happy Valley, I had the opportunity to share “A Piece of Me”—a City Year tradition/exercise where we bring forth a personal item and/or story and share a part of ourselves with the group. This exercise helps us see each other in the full context of our lives. It drives connection and empathy. This year, I told my own personal City Year story.

Growing up Quaker in Virginia, the values of service and educational equity were deeply ingrained values. My mother was a teacher, and she, through our Quaker Meeting, led a grassroots desegregation movement in Richmond Public Schools. This experience taught me so much about my own privilege and the complex systemic challenges in education. This was the foundation for my journey to service and a career in educational leadership.

Sports gave me direction in high school and helped carry me through college. Then I found City Year.

To say City Year taught me a lot would be an understatement.

City Year took a kid who thought he had it all figured out and challenged him in ways he didn’t even know he could be challenged. I learned patience, perseverance, the power of showing up, the power of setting aside my ego, and the importance of listening—the list goes on.

One of the core lessons we learn at City Year is that of ubuntu: I am a person through other people. This ability to recognize our shared humanity is part of City Year’s secret sauce. I don’t remember exactly when it clicked for me, but by the end of my year of service, I knew what we shared was something truly special.

The relationships we build during our year of service are hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced them. Some of my closest friends today are people I met during my year of service with City Year. One of them even stood beside me at my wedding.

So now, standing on the other side of that experience, I have the privilege of watching another incredible group of young people begin their City Year journey.

I’m excited for all they’re about to learn—not just from the experience or from the ����ֱ�� they’ll serve, but from each other.

This is a special place. And I’m so proud to be part of an organization that invests in the future of brave young people in such a transformative way.