University of Minnesota Helps Teens Share Their Stories

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Undergraduates at the University of Minnesota are helping graduating middle school students document their uniqueness and desires for social change.

Northeast Middle School eighth grade students created digital stories that highlight their identities through the Minnesota Youth Story Squad program. Stories detailed living with diabetes, dealing with negative body-image and being Native American.

The program is funded by university faculty members and aims to inspire students to pursue social justice and positively impact their communities. The initiative began two years ago, but it first came to Northeast during the 2017-2018 school year.

Jigna Desai is program co-founder and a professor of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies and Asian American Studies. She says many of the students come from low-income households and are minorities.