Enter: Mouhamad Al Aarab – an aerospace engineering student at Carleton University. Mouhamad was hired by Youth Ottawa to facilitate the program as an extension of Youth Ottawa’s mission to provide economic opportunities for youth, allowing him to earn income to pay for his own tuition.

Mouhamad immigrated to Canada in 2016, after 4 years without a formal education. His second language being English, he was the perfect candidate to inspire these youth to achieve their aspirations. Nurhan, one of the students, agreed that having someone from a similar background helped them have someone to look up to. From Mouhamad’s experiences, he credited the homework club at his high school for getting him into university – something which Youth Ottawa tried to emulate through this program. 

The Hawthorne Amplified Project empowered Mouhamad to be a role model for students who may be inspired to continue in his footsteps and become mentors for future generations. Consequently, not only were other students’ potentials amplified, but the unemployment gap amongst youth was also lessened in numerous ways.

The summer lessons taught financial and digital literacy, as well as lessons in resilience and leadership, but also included games and interactive activities. Mouhammad and the teachers structured their lessons around the interests of the students, weaving in curriculum expectations wherever they could. Drawing on his own experiences, Mouhamad implemented techniques that had helped him in the past, such as starting classes by encouraging the students to voice their concerns – which was often about school or the pandemic. At first, he found it difficult to get students involved through a screen. These challenges were overcome with incentives such as games where participation was mandatory, as well as building trust with the more shy students. 

The balance between fun and education kept students engaged in the education process. For students, the final project from the previous YAM sessions – a TV show – was one of the most memorable aspects of the program, despite not being able to finish it. Mouhamad also introduced the students to “words of the day”: words that he wished to have known when he was learning English in high schools like “requirements” and “experience” – knowing that these kids would often need to help their parents understand official documents sent in English.  

Our Civics program’s approach has always been, and still is, simple: let youth do something about something for their community.  Starting in 2021, however, instead of going into the classroom, our Active Citizenship Initiative facilitators will now guide teachers through engaging their students in active citizenship. We have created online lesson plans, resources, and support videos for both our 3-step and 8-step Active Citizenship Initiative.