Mentorship Celebration

That is a wrap for Spring Mentorship 2.0! We celebrated with good food and reflected on mentorship. We started the last session by heading out to eat together, giving the mentees space to unwind and celebrate their accomplishments and completion of the Mentorship. We talked through everything this Mentorship held: what we learned, the goals we set, the challenges, and the project the mentees worked on collaboratively. After, we made our way back to The Firehouse Dream, where the conversations shifted to more about what the mentees’ journey with photography has been looking like for them recently.

We wrapped the day with group photos and video content of our celebration. Thank you to the mentees for showing up and being ready to learn during Mentorship.

Mentorship 2.0 | Collaborative Project

For this week’s Mentorship session, our mentees gathered to work on their collective project, a magazine dedicated to Proviso and Maywood. Each mentee is highlighting different things about Proviso. Mya is photographing families, capturing the heart of Proviso through the people of the community. Saffron is photographing local businesses, spotlighting the owners who keep the community moving. Melina is capturing events and highlighting the history, putting together past and present, honoring the stories held in Proviso. Haley is documenting sports, the athletes, teams, and traditions that energize the neighborhood. Ethan is designing the layout of the magazine, bringing every piece together visually, and finalizing the magazine.

The mentees had a quick check-in with Jasmine on their project progress, then moved on to giving each other feedback and updates. We also spent time interviewing the mentees, giving them time to speak about their experience and things that they have learned so far during mentorship. As it gets closer to finalizing their project, the mentees are learning how to collaborate, communicate, and create with purpose.

Mentorship 2.0 | Week 7

We kicked off our first in-person session of Mentorship 2.0! Our mentees, Adlemy, Mya, Gabi, Keilani, and Saffron learned about systems and workflows. There was brainstorming for what they wanted their projects to look like, what would be the first step, and how that would look to them. The mentees continued to plan what they wanted to do for media day for the following week. We also had each mentee work on poses and have their own headshots taken, along with group photos.

We are excited to see what unfolds next week and what visions come to life, and everyone showing up in their own creative way!

Staff Retreat | 2025

Our team came together for a refreshing and productive staff retreat, building connection and collaboration. Through brainstorming and thoughtful discussions, we strengthened our vision and goals for what we aim to do for both The Firehouse Dream and Maywood. We are excited for what comes next and what it could look like for The Firehouse Dream!