[Team Members from left to right: Tommy, Rachel, Sarah, Cortney, Bo, and Jesse]

Our group was paired with Teen Outreach Programs (TOPs) of Raleigh through our class at NC State (Parks, Recreation, and Tourism 358 - The Recreation Program). This class has paired student groups with different community centers and programs in the Raleigh area for many years. These service-learning opportunities are able to benefit our Raleigh community, while also giving our NC State students real-life experience in program planning. For our particular agency, we were asked to develop two programs that were both engaging for the teens and that connected them to the community. One of the programs had to involve a photo scavenger hunt at Pullen Park, and the second one was completely up to us to decide upon and plan. As a result of these programs, we learned to be more outgoing and to embrace our true selves in order to make the teens feel more welcomed by implementing a judgment-free zone.

Explore our website to learn more about our programs and how our adventure went!