ASP of Bridgeport is two years old!

Published by Christina DiChiara

Since All Stars Project (ASP) of Bridgeport put our programs on the ground in 2014, director Pamela Lewis and the ASP of Bridgeport team have reached over 4,000 young people and their families, added a second Development School for Youth (DSY) class and worked with 17 area companies to double the number of summer internships.

On May 13 the second class of the DSY graduated in a ceremony at Housatonic Community College. The 33 graduates were joined by an audience of more than 120 people including friends, family, teachers, coaches, business supporters and community leaders.

Senior Pastor of Mount Aery Baptist Church, Anthony L. Bennett, D.Min, gave an inspirational commencement speech and John Oliver Beirne, President and Partner, Beirne Wealth Consulting and Sekou Kaalund, Managing Director, JP Morgan, also expressed their congratulations and words of encouragement. As always the highlight of the program were the graduates’ personal testimonials:

“When I first started DSY I didn’t really know what they meant by performance. They explained that you actually perform all the time – at school, at home, with friends or at work. Being a part of DSY I learned how to perform in all types of different situations, especially when things felt hard. By performing I learned new things about myself, gained new skills and confidence and built new relationships.  In DSY, from the moment we walked through the door it had to be our choice to be there. We had to be up for the challenge. No one expected us to know everything, but rather do our best and be open to being uncomfortable and trying new things.”

Tajanna Bullock, 2016 DSY Graduate

The DSY graduates are now in the final weeks of preparing for their summer internships, which begin this July – and they’re so excited to continue their developmental journey!

Bridgeport_DSY Grad_2016

A special thank you to our 2016 DSY Internship Sponsors!

Barnum Financial Group
Beirne Wealth Consulting
Bridgeport Bluefish
Bridgeport Hospital
Connoisseur Media
EY
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Gault Energy & Stone
Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council
Interlude Home, Inc.
Marc Fisher Footwear
Morgan Stanley
Mount Aery Baptist Church
PSEG
PwC
RD Scinto, Inc.
SiriusDecisions, Inc.
Stamford Hospital
Westport Resources