Not very often do youth get to design and lead what makes them feel good at school. School is notorious for prescribing a curriculum and calendar without considering what students may need or want to build positive school culture and connection. OCELOTL believes that youth are the experts of their own experience and should always be heard when anything is being created for them. Instead of creating for them, what if we supported what they created? 

If youth were able to lead and drive the events and opportunities that other youth could access, what would that look like? And would it have a more positive impact on experience, well-being, and outcomes? OCELOTL aimed to develop a practice that would create space for projects to be developed by youth and for youth. 

Starting in 2018, Bianca developed a “Community Engagement'' curriculum which took youth through the program planning and management process. Youth were tasked with creating their own event and the only goal was: 

Create a community engagement opportunity that will positively impact your community. 

Adults stepped out of the spotlight and into roles as supporters to shift the power dynamics to youth. With budgets of $500 each, small groups created projects ranging from community clean-ups, video game tournaments, confidence-building show and tells, art demos, and more. The projects all came to life and achieved the goal of making positive impacts on the community.