Myra Snipes -Diversity/Training Manager -Oversees the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council
At one point during our meeting, Myra said, “I’m excited and energized!” She was talking about her feelings towards the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council (MYLC) and all of the amazing things they are doing, but it’s clear that she carries that same energy into every aspect of her work and life. Before I could ask a single question, Myra started with, “I’m a home-grown Akron native!” With that we were off, talking about Myra’s love for Akron, Nicole’s Restaurant, her family, and her goals for Akron’s youth through the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council. Myra grew up on Akron’s west side and graduated from Buchtel High School. She was class president back then and it’s clear that her leadership skills have only continued to grow, as has her passion for this community.
1. Why did you choose to meet at Nicole’s Restaurant?
I come here every Friday! They know me by name. The food here reminds me of my grandmother’s home cooking: good food, hot, and good portions. It’s really affordable too! I usually get the fish sandwich. It’s so good! Everything is good here though. They do African American soul food really well. I mean, you can see how busy they are and it’s not even a peak time. They used to be across the street in a smaller location but moved into this larger space because of how popular they became.
2. How long have you been working for the city?
21 years! I know that because I think about the fact that when I started, I didn’t have any kids. Now I have a daughter at Ohio University and a son at St. Vincent St. Mary’s. My husband has been with the city almost as long as I have. He works with Neighborhood Assistance doing the housing rehab program.
3. Can you tell us about the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council?
It’s a program for Akron youth and it’s about planting seeds in students who will become our future leaders. We’ve revamped the program and right now we have over 100 students in the database taking part. We want to create a lot of collaboration with community organizations, educational institutions, and city government to help expose these kids to things they’ve never seen or experienced before. They get the chance to meet their council people, and the Mayor’s Cabinet. One of the goals for this year is to be able to actually present a couple ideas that the students have come up with to Council. I want them to see their ideas come to life and see that they have a voice and can make a difference.
It’s all about combining education and fun and allowing these kids to see their potential. We kicked off this school year at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center. We hosted a Night Hike that more than 60 students attended. They learned about nocturnal animals and then had a bonfire and made s’mores. I ran into one of their grandmothers afterwards, and she said her grandson had been not wanting to go but that when he came home he said he had a great time. That’s what I want. I want kids to see that you can learn new skills and gain new info and still have fun. I want to expose them to some non-traditional activities; things that they wouldn’t normally get to do. There were a bunch of those high schoolers who had never made a s’more before!
4. What are some of the skills that you think students gain from participating with the Leadership Council?
One of our biggest priorities is to enhance their public speaking skills. So much work is done digitally these days, so public speaking skills seem to be suffering as a result. When these students enter the real world, public speaking is a critical skill to secure a decent job and have success in most workplaces. You need to be able to communicate. The MYLC helps them develop those skills. One thing we are going to start doing this year is hosting virtual meetings. This will allow flexibility for kids who might be athletes or have other extracurriculars but still want to be involved. This is going to further their computer/technology skills, as well as exposing them to how to work collaboratively.
The program is meant to give these kids self-confidence in their abilities so that when they walk into an interview or they are applying for college, they feel prepared and ready to take that on. As a training manager with a lot of experience in Human Resources, I’m always thinking about how they can apply these skills and this program to resumes and college applications. The MYLC helps them diversify their skill-set and get involved with their community.
5. How is the MYLC different now from when it was Peace Makers?
There is more of a focus now on educating them about how government works and how they can get involved and have a real impact. There are also actual scholarship opportunities. We are actually accepting applications now for the Teen Financial Literacy Program. We give out a couple scholarships a year through that program which is where we mentor kids to be able to talk to other teens about financial independence.
6. What is your proudest accomplishment while working for the city?
I’m really proud of the Stark State project and managing that. It’s called the Workforce Development program and it’s a partnership between the City and Stark State. We made a deal with Stark State where we gave them land and they are offering tuition free classes to city of Akron employees as long as there are open spots. That will be launching in spring of 2020. This is something I’ve been wanting and working towards for a long time so it’s really exciting to see it finally coming to fruition.
***
If you know of an Akron student who might be interested in joining the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council please check out http://www.mylcakron.org/ for more information.
Nicole’s Restaurant is located at 1477 S Hawkins Ave, Akron, OH 44320. For more info click here: http://www.nicolessouthernkitchen.com/.