SWBOCES well-represented at My Brother’s Keeper 2025 Youth Leadership Summit
Lower Hudson Valley MBK Alliance and partners co-host powerful event at SUNY Westchester Community College
The Lower Hudson Valley My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, joined by the Westchester County Youth Bureau, the Obama Foundation and Westchester Community College, co-hosted a powerful gathering of young men from high schools across the Hudson Valley.
Southern Westchester BOCES was represented for the first time at a countywide MBK event by two students, MBK Fellows Brandon Hilton and Jace Thomas (pictured at right with Teaching Assistant Curtis Anderson and Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden, New York State Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services). Mr. Anderson will lead the MBK program to launch at SWBOCES’s Center for Special Services, with guidance from Assistant Director for Special Services Dr. Alexandria Connally, who also chairs the Westchester County Youth Board.
The event featured student-led panel discussions on personal branding and on the impact of social media on youth culture. Attendees also heard from a panel of MBK alumni and members of WCC’s Black and Hispanic Male Initiative who shared their experiences since graduating high school.
Speakers addressed overcoming obstacles and fostering leadership for youth of color and praised the talents and accomplishments of those in attendance.
“Today we’re going to raise our heads,” said MBK Program Coordinator Nate Adams of New Rochelle. “Today we’re going to be leaders. The future is bright today, right here in this room.”
Mr. Adams encouraged the audience of MBK Fellows and Ambassadors to get to know one another, to network among their peers, and to share ideas with one another.
Ernest McFadden, Executive Director of the Westchester County Youth Bureau, reflected on the bureau’s long and impactful partnership with MBK. The county seeks to understand the needs of young people and to hear their input as well as their feedback, he said.
“As Fellows, you’ve been elevated to be the ambassadors, so we’re really relying on you,” Mr. McFadden said. “That’s what today is about. We want to hear from you.”
Since 2018, Westchester County and the Youth Bureau have partnered with the 14 local MBK programs of the Lower Hudson Valley My Brother’s Keeper Alliance to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color and to help change the narrative too often associated with this demographic.
The purpose of the New York State Education Department’s My Brother’s Keeper Fellows Program is to provide rising 12th-grade high school students, particularly young men of color, with opportunities to gain authentic leadership experiences and develop service projects beneficial to their schools and communities.
Assistant Commissioner Dr. Anael Alston at the Office of Access, Equity, and Community Engagement, described his approach to the MBK program as taking it for granted that these young men are brilliant. He hasn’t been proved wrong yet, he said.
“We believe you can accomplish anything as long as you get the right support. So it just comes down to, what do you believe?” Dr. Alston said to applause from students and educators alike. “Don’t you dare look in the mirror and lie to yourself that there’s something wrong with you.”
Deputy Westchester County Executive Richard Wishnie said that resources are often lacking in communities, so mentorship and guidance for young people are critical.
“This program today is an impactful event to empower young men of color throughout the Hudson Valley,” Mr. Wishnie said.
Student panel tackles social media’s impact
The panel on Social Media Messaging was moderated by Yonkers MBK Fellow Marcus Knight Jr. Student panelists were Brandon Archer of White Plains, Jayden Samuels of Greenburgh, Justin Southwell of New Rochelle, Malaki Drysdale of Ossining, Aaron Owusu of Peekskill, and Rischneider Guerrier of Newburgh.
Malaki said social media has pros and cons in that it is how young people stay informed, though they can be confronted by misinformation. It comes down to how one uses it, Malaki said.
Justin said he sees social media as a negative influence on how young people perceive themselves. “It really shouldn’t be that way,” he said. “It disguises itself as a friend, but it’s really an enemy that’s changing how you think.”
Jayden said that constant notifications lead to a fear of missing out, but at the same time social media connects young people with their peers.
Regarding the ban on cell phones in New York schools implemented this year, Brandon said he has already seen a difference in terms of being less distracted and better able to focus on his classes or college applications, for example. “I would say this is a positive for me,” he said.
The panel addressed portrayals of substance use and abuse on social media, with some students saying those images glorify such behavior or show it as less harmful than it really is. One panelist suggested that better enforcement of age restrictions on social media would be beneficial.
Malaki said he takes a lesson from his wrestling coach.
“You have the power to ignore,” he said. “(Social media) can’t affect you if you ignore the negative things. You just have to get the positive out of it.”
MBK Fellows Participating in the Summit
SWBOCES - Brandon Hilton and Jace Thomas
Greenburgh - Jaden Samuels, Amir Jackson
Mount Vernon - Cayden Mitchell, Leonard David Oduro
Port Chester - Jah’Meer Furman, Carlso Daniel Palma Morales
New Rochelle - Stone Pride, Justin Southwell, Quincy Fosu, Vasslon Ingram, Jr.
White Plains - Brandon Archer, Emmanuel Vanegas Ocampo
Ossining - Aiden Menendez, Malaki Drysdale
Yonkers - Joel Gonzalez, Max Hernandez, Marcus Knight, Quiilan Wilson
Peekskill - Aaron Owusu, Daryan Smith
Newburgh - Cameron Ford, Rayden Gould, Rischneider Guerrier, Taymere Mann
