This summer, youth from the Library's Teen Virtual Volunteer program worked to interview teens who participated in summer arts programs around Tucson and Southern Arizona. We contacted and profiled various youth arts organizations and set up interviews with teens to learn about their artistic lives, the programs and camps they attended and their plans for the future. The teen interviewers learned how to interview people from AZPM’s Mark McLemore and were excited to meet and talk with other teens in the community.
Volunteering for teens has always been a popular program at our libraries. The Virtual Volunteer program started on 2020 when PCPL was looking to engage youth remotely due to the restrictions of the pandemic. Their Pima Love Notes project that summer connected young folks with residents of nursing homes and healthcare providers. Our volunteers composed and created individualized greeting cards for these two groups of people.
The Teen Interviews this year provided young adults with the opportunity to develop and practice their listening skills, their speaking confidence and their ability to plan and conduct an informative discussion with someone who they never met. Also, our volunteers learned about the importance of community building and connecting with youth in similar roles in local Tucson youth arts organizations.
See all of the interviews on YouTube or stream the playlist here:
Teen volunteer Madeline L. speaks with Amaya from Stories that Soar. Madeline is a student at the University of Arizona studying Geography and Korean and Amaya was an intern for Stories that Soar, a project at Literacy Connects where young actors write and produce plays. Watch it here.
Teen volunteer Sophia R. speaks with Imogen Rose from Groundworks. Sophia spends her time sewing and costume making and will be attending ASU in the fall and Imogen is a musician and songwriter who interns at Groundworks, a local youth arts organization that taught ukulele to teen campers this summer. Watch it here.
Teen volunteer Alissa V. speaks with Meera from the University of Arizona’s Young Writers Institute. Alissa is a high school student and was a youth intern at Woods Memorial Library and Meera is a freshmen in high school who practiced creative writing this July at the Young Writers Institute. Watch it here.
Teen volunteer Shivam P. speaks with Lenine from Owl & Panther. Shivam is a library Page studying Information Science at the University of Arizona and Lenine is a musician who has worked with Owl & Panther, an arts organization that serves refugee families, since he arrived in this country in 2015. Watch it here.
Teen volunteer Malcolm B. speaks with Taranm from the Arts Foundation program Transportation Art by Youth (TABY). Malcolm is a student at University High School and Taranm is an artist, a senior in high school and was the youth assistant for TABY this summer, which decorated planters for a 12th Avenue neighborhood public art project. Watch it here.
Librarian Matt Landon speaks with volunteer Alissa V. about her experience interviewing Meera from the Young Writers Institute and her time as an Intern at Woods Memorial Library this summer. Watch it here.
