Joy – that’s the word that Christina Young used to describe how she feels about Brilliant Detroit.
Having grown up in the Fitzgerald community, she was thrilled to learn about an organization that seemed to be going against the grain of what had happened to her neighborhood over the years. “For the program to care enough to be there, speaks volumes.” Christina first heard about Brilliant Detroit in 2020 after a chance encounter with former hub manager Shonta Smith. At a time when people were separated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brilliant Detroit provided social opportunities for Christina’s young boys Thomas and Xaiver. As programming shifted from being offered virtually to being in person back at the site, Christina and her family got even more involved. They participated in programs including literacy tutoring, martial arts, and zumbini. At times it was hard to believe that everything is provided at no cost to families and is accessible all in one place, right in her neighborhood.
A place intentionally set up for kids and families to learn and grow was something that she never expected to find. Being at the Brilliant hub simply felt positive. When her two older boys started elementary school, she enrolled them in our high dosage literacy tutoring programs. Xavier and Thomas, now 7 and 6 respectively, while close in age are quite different in demeanor. Christina describes Xavier as a hidden fire, at first he can be quiet, but given the right push, he is sure to shine. Thomas on the other hand is always excited and known for his socialability. Despite their differences, both of Christina’s sons love the tutoring program and have grown in their confidence and literacy skills.
Reflecting on her boy’s experience with one-on-one tutoring, Christina praised, “the strength of the individual time. They can’t hide out in the crowd, they have to show up as students.” The consistency of the program – twice weekly meetings – created what Christina called “momentum.” Her boys were excited to meet with their tutoring partners and to read both during and outside of their tutoring sessions. Christina reached out to our Fitzgerald hub manager to inform her of the drastic increase in Xavier and Thomas’s literacy scores. She attributed their success to the high dosage tutoring program saying, “each day of individual learning is very important for my children. The results are showing.”