Harlem Educational Activities Fund mentors NYC youth with ‘future in focus’

The Harlem Educational Activities Fund is a college access program that focuses on academic enrichment, personal development and industry immersion-based career mentorship. Youth from underserved communities are selected for the 100% tuition free program to gain confidence and experience with interviewing, public speaking, college readiness, and other life skills. The fund has served thousands of students by providing after school programming starting as early as the 6th grade helping to bridge academic and opportunity gaps by providing academic enrichment, youth development, and college preparation. 

New president and CEO of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, Michael Johnson, has been encouraged to fulfill his role based on his own personal experiences. “I grew up in public housing in a moderate middle income family from Brooklyn so I never had the means to be able to do after school activities and other pieces of education,” he told New York Nonprofit Media.  He was salutatorian at his junior high school and yet he still found himself, “having to catch up in high school, even after being a kid doing exceptionally well in the classroom. He emphasized that the public school system is vital and very important, especially to young people who do not have the ability to go to private or independent schools. “But, at the end of the day, there’s a need to reinforce that and to add these other sorts of extracurricular or after school components that enhance or even build up the confidence of a young person,” said Johnson. 

Career development and success is part of the college access program’s ultimate goal for its students.“Pairing together career and college is an incredible formula for success for young people getting early exposure to various careers while also emphasizing what they need academically,” said Johnson. “We stand true and stick to the idea that college is still a path, but we want to tie that to career.”

About 90% of students participating in the fund are people of color. The program relies on corporate sponsors and individuals who provide internships, mentorships and other opportunities for young people to diversify their talent. “The diversity and inclusion conversation is about creating a pipeline of diversity in the careers and also industries that we support and that are supportive of us,” said Johnson. Because of this, he expressed dismay and disappointment at the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended race conscious admissions, also known as affirmative action. This decision disqualified public and private colleges and universities from considering race as one of the many factors in deciding which of qualified applicants is to be admitted. Johnson admitted that this decision puts a hindrance on and provides a challenge to the young people in his program who are striving to pursue college. However, he remains positive about their success in higher education. “I believe our kids will triumph because of an organization like ours that is ready to pivot and ready to be able to address those challenges and emphasize the importance of where they’re from and their story and how their story is going to compel them to have a better and stronger case for that college to admit them,” he said. “It’s a terrible precedent to set knowing that our young people and our communities are already dealing with these other facets of racism but I do believe (the fund) will triumph over that.”

The fund is hosting its 2023 Gala on Wednesday. Last year’s theme of “Celebrating our Roots,” according to Johnson, “made sense” as a celebration of heritage. “It’s now important to think about our path forward. And that’s how we came up with [this year’s] theme of ‘Our Future in Focus,’” said Johnson. This year's event will highlight notable trailblazers and role models such as Sekou Kaalund, head of branch and small business banking at U.S. Bank, fund alumna Evelyn Perez-Albino, attorney, career strategist, and professional speaker, and Pamela West, a managing director and real estate impact investor at Nuveen.