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Multimedia - RAMP Annual Meeting 2011 (Washington, DC)

In August 2011, RAMP youth, staff, mentors, and family members came together for the RAMP Annual Meeting 2011 in Washington, DC. Participants spent time networking and learning more about each other, covered the foundations of the program, learned about youth high-tech and career projects presented by RAMP youth, shared exciting moments from the past year of RAMP, discussed ways to improve the program, and helped shape the direction for the coming year. Youth in attendance participated in a half-day educational tour of Washington, DC, including a tour of monuments (with a dedicated stop for discussion on leadership and disability history at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial), the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and more. Youth also participated in a half-day youth leadership and peer mentor training. RAMP program staff engaged in peer-facilitated discussions on specific RAMP components, including youth enrollment and engagement, working with partners, Individualized Mentoring Plans and weekly goal-setting sessions, weekly activities, engaging families, and program administration. Participants also heard from a panel of federal employees with disabilities entitled "Career Exploration, Mentoring, and Me." Visit the galleries below to learn more!

Thumbnail: A young woman shows a button she made.
 

Kick-Off Activity - Make Your Own RAMP Buttons!

As an introduction to the meeting and each other, RAMP staff, youth, and mentors made their own buttons that expressed how they felt about RAMP, what they like about the program, and who they were as individuals.

Thumbnail: A youth and RAMP staff work together to build a tower from marshmallows and spaghetti.
 

Sharing Across Sites: Communication Skills Activity

Youth from the RAMP site at Cerebral Palsy of Colorado in Denver shared a communication skills activity they learned this year in RAMP. Participants were broken into small groups. Each group chose a leader. The leader's job was to instruct the group how to build a tower made of nothing but marshmallows and raw spaghetti. The group with the tallest tower won. The catch was that the leaders were not allowed to touch the materials and the other group members had to follow the leaders' instructions. Afterwards, groups debriefed about their strengths and challenges and reflected on the importance and variety of communication skills required in day-to-day life at school, home, work, and community.

Thumbnail: Two youth make heart signs with their hands.
 

Youth Peer Mentor Training

Youth participants spent an afternoon in a youth-only peer mentor training, facilitated by Andraea Lavant from the Institute for Educational Leadership's Center for Workforce Development with Patrick Cokely and Maria Town of the (U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. Youth participated in a variety of activities, including:

  • "Build a Mentor," where small groups drew their own supermentor who represented all the ideal qualities youth would want in  a mentor.
  • "Encouraging/Discouraging Peer Role Plays," where one youth played a person about to make a decision and looking for advice from peers. The other youth presented encouraging and discouraging arguments regarding the potential decision to highlight the positive and negative roles that peers can play in youth's lives.
  • "My Journey," a self-assessment and long-term goal-planning exercise.
  • "Peer Mentor Scavenger Hunt," where youth competed to learn more about each other as individuals and how they can be positive, supportive resoures to each other.
  • "Next Steps Action Plan," which helped youth reflect on the session and take home ideas and a plan to be a positive influence at home.

Thumbnail: A RAMP youth and his mentor give the thumbs up in front of the White House gate.
 

Youth Educational Tour of Washington, DC

RAMP youth and some of their mentors, parents/guardians, and RAMP staff took to the streets of Washington, DC to see the sights and learn about disability and United States history.