Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Summer Leadership Academy is postponed. We are in continued conversations with our K-12 partners to find new ways to engage our young boys and men of color students served by our mentoring program. We will provide an update for our fifth leadership academy when we have more information to share.
Read about our 2019 Summer Leadership Academy
Returning again for the fourth time, the Summer Leadership Academy at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) took place June 28-29, 2019. This year we had over 50 young middle school and high school boys who participated in our leadership academy. Our academy incorporated an overnight stay in the UT dorms help demystify the college experience. Along with presentations to reinforce the leadership skills they have developed over the year, this leadership academy helps mitigate the effect of “summer brain drain”. Through our summer academy, we are addressing the lack of programming in Austin for our students, we know from decades of research that summer learning loss is a real phenomenon, particularly for low-income students. We also include family members of each young male to join us so that they can experience what college life is like. During this time, students and families have the opportunity to walk in classrooms, experience a college course, stay in the dormitories, and tour the recreation facilities.
The Project MALES Summer Leadership Academy hosts students from several school districts in the Central Texas Region. The Project MALES Summer Leadership Academy features two days of workshops and sessions that focus on building leadership skills, communication skills, and creative activities. All of our presentations address our five themes of Brotherhood, Leadership, College & Career Readiness, Health & Wellness, and Identity.
Highlights from previous Summer Leadership Academies include:
- Workshops on Leadership Development, Brotherhood, and College and Career Readiness.
- Workshops on Creative Writing, Spoken Word, and Teatro.
- UT-Austin campus tour were students explored buildings and museums, visited laboratories, meet with University faculty and staff, and had lunch at Jester Cafeteria (UT residence hall).
Download the Project MALES Summer Leadership Academy Permission Slip (English) here.
Download the Project MALES Summer Leadership Academy Permission Slip (Español) here.