We have to brag on our incredible YELLS alumna, Raigon Wilson. She has been pouring into our Mentoring Program Bigs during this time of social distancing and making sure they develop the same skills she learned when she was a Big. As a Big, Raigon committed herself to shaping the life of her elementary school “Little,” and she has continued to mentor Analleli even after graduating.
Raigon is a natural servant leader, actively seeking ways to develop her own skills in order to give back to others. Wherever there is an opportunity for deep-reaching, authentic service, Raigon is sure to be found. Raigon uncovered her passion for promoting food security, health, and nutrition at an early age while working in our YELLS Community Garden. During her time as a Big, Raigon developed a toolkit of community leadership and project management skills as she launched community initiatives, managed our community garden, coordinated a health fair, and led cooking and health workshops for youth. This would later fuel her future studies and career focused on helping communities achieve equitable health outcomes.
Raigon has stayed busy since her time in YELLS, gaining a scholarship and earning a degree from Howard University in Nutritional Sciences and receiving a Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals fellowship. With her amazing heart and skillset that has only grown through all of her studies and experiences since graduating YELLS, we were so thrilled to have her rejoin us as a volunteer to invest in the next generation of Bigs. Listen to Raigon share how her time in YELLS shaped her as a leader:
After her fellowship in Germany was cut short due to COVID-19, Raigon reached out, looking for a way to give back and put her skills to use. Given the state of our nation, she was particularly interested in supporting our initiatives around equity and justice. Raigon has helped our youth process their feelings around racial injustice and led a Social Action Project Planning Workshop to help equip our youth with the skills to take action.
Our Bigs will be leading a “Dialogue Project” to share their perspectives and elevate voices to inspire awareness and spark change. They are in the process of producing a series of interviews and conversations that explore our country’s social unrest on a more personal level. Bigs hope to keep the dialogue going and encourage people to have tough conversations that help all individuals deal with and address inequities. Raigon drew from the skills she learned as a Big and all she’s learned since to design a virtual workshop that would help Bigs work through their project planning process and consider all the steps for success. Thanks to Raigon, they’ve set SMART Goals and have a solid plan to take their project from idea to implementation! Hear from Raigon why this project matters to her and why she’s chosen to continue to invest in YELLS as she grows in her career:
