Fall Programs in the Project Success Institute

Through Project Success Institute programming, students build critical life and career skills that enrich their independence and cultivate creativity and curiosity. The Fall 2024 trimester has been an inspiring 10 weeks with Minneapolis high school students as our programs grew with new innovations and great energy from the students, volunteer coaches, contractors, and support staff involved. Highlights from this fall included:

Creative Writing: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Take Center Stage

Using feedback from past students, the Project Success team refined the Creative Writing curriculum to focus on Sci-Fi and Fantasy — the most requested genres. A highlight this fall was a guest session from Meghan Wolff, a published YA Sci-Fi author, who shared insights on plot development. Student enthusiasm for this certificate was so strong that the class will be offered again in the winter.

Girls with Impact: Gaining Business Skills 

In partnership with Girls with Impact, students got to explore their business ideas and dig deep into how to make it come to life. Each week students met with Coach Cherie and defined their ideas, analyzed the market, reviewed budgets, and came up with their very own business plan. Many of the student’s business ideas varied from having their own podcast, to having a baked good delivery service, a non-profit in supporting young Black women with mentorship, and many more great ideas. Upon completion of the course and presentation of their business plans, students received a laptop.

Coding: A New Project-Based Approach

The Coding program also was reimagined this trimester, shaped by feedback from the newly formed Institute Support Team. This team of students, PS alumni, and professional mentors provided crucial input and helped to shape a more focused approach, moving away from broad, multi-topic sessions toward specialized, project-based learning. This effort inspired the development of a new three-session Website Development Working Group, where alumni and professional coders are collaborating to design a website development course.

Bike Tech: Rolling into a New Era

Bike Tech had tremendous interest this fall thanks in part to the debut of Darrow Jones, founder of Break the Cycle and PS Alum, as the lead instructor. Students gained hands-on experience in everything from fixing a flat tire to making brake adjustments and gear shifter repairs and the trimester culminated in students taking home bikes they repaired themselves.

Money Management: Meeting Students Where They Are

The Money Management course underwent a transformation this trimester, evolving to better meet our students’ needs. Through conversations, one of our Facilitators learned that students at South High School – many of whom are new to the U.S. – had a strong interest in financial literacy, but weren’t able to attend sessions at the Institute. Acting on this insight, we co-developed Real Life Finance: En Español, a Spanish-language financial literacy course held after school at South High School. This after-school program was co-facilitated by James Rone y Adriana Rimpel from Project Success and Joanette Cintrón from Old National Bank. The three-session series addressed financial literacy topics tailored to the students’ needs.

Baking: Exploring Worldly Desserts

In our Baking Certificate, this trimester we made pate a choux or choux pastry with Chef Alexandra Motz, banana walnut muffins with Lutunji from Lutunji’s Palette, and crepes with Chef Fritz from B’beri Dessert. We also experimented with Lab weeks, where students got to use the skills and recipe they’ve learned from the previous week from a chef, and make their own creation based on the ingredients that students requested. Student creations included frying skittles in choux pastry, sweet crepes filled with fresh fruits, and nachos with a variety of toppings.

Cooking: A one-of-a-kind Field Trip Experience

This trimester in our Cooking Certificate, we explored different recipes with all different kinds of spices and seasonings. From making sambusas with Chef Jamal Hashi and pizza with Chef Marla Jadoonanan to nachos inspired by Chef Manny. Like Baking, we had Lab weeks for Cooking as well. Students get to request ingredients of their choice and use that to make a variation of what we’ve made with chefs. In our Labs, we’ve had students create a candy pizza, cheese stuffed sambusas, and sauces for their nachos. Students also went on a field trip to the Midtown Global Market, where they met with Chef Manny from Manny’s Tortas and received a demo from him on how to make fresh salsa verde. After the demonstration, students got the chance to walk around and order food of their choice. 

Our team is excited to continue listening to our students and adapting classes based on their feedback. As we approach the Winter Trimester in January, check out two exciting updates for our Institute programs:

• In response to growing demand for culinary classes and shaped by input from students over the past two years, the Institute will add a third weekly cooking session: Budget-Friendly Cooking. The class will emphasize pantry-building, smart grocery shopping, and using recipes as inspiration rather than strict instructions — all aimed at creating delicious, low-cost meals. Meanwhile, the Thursday session will transform into Culinary Adventures, emphasizing advanced techniques and global cuisine. This shift allows students to deepen their culinary expertise and explore international flavors.
• The Institute is excited to announce a new partnership with Late Bloomer, a non-profit film company dedicated to empowering marginalized communities through film education, and founded by a PS Alum. The collaboration kicks off with a Day of Film on January 11, where students will create filmed content using tools from the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, marking the beginning of an exciting new creative opportunity for students.