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Civic Leadership Institute
Every summer since I moved into my house, I noticed a group of young people would come over to Saint Mary Park and play soccer. Who are these kids? What is their story? Why are they here? I was curious. I am happy that they come to my neighborhood and bring a little bit of life and make good usage of the park. But the questions still remained unanswered until today, Tuesday 4 July 2006.
I had just finished lunch at Al Pacino Restaurant at the corner of Cathedral and Read. I stopped by the north end of the park around the Washington Monument and read the Baltimore Examiner. It is extremely rare when I can find a copy of this newspaper. So I took advantage of the opportunity. Then I wandered home.
When I approached the park, there were people there. I thought that I recognized them, but I really did not. But Anna and her husband and son were also there and she recognized me. So I spent some time with them, trying to get to know the little boy. Anna told me that the man who was sitting against the wall was having chest pain and the other people there called 9-1-1 for him.
As we were waiting for the emergency crew to arrive, a group of young people came to the park. Anna, her husband, and I walked towards my house since we all were heading in the same basic directions. She gave me a wonderful lesson on health. She is a nurse. Then I went into the house and retrieved my camera and returned and took the pictures which you see here.
After I took enough pictures, I interviewed Amy, a counselor. She told me that these high school students are from the Civic Leadership Institute which is run by Johns Hopkins University. They live in the area as they study here for three weeks. The students are from all over the world. There is even a student from Russia but he was not with this group today. Thus, I did not get a chance to practice my Russian.
The program is for learning about social justices and problems in Baltimore and other cities. It is also about how teenagers can be more active in their communities. The next day they were going to go to Washington DC to meet with some of the agencies there and to tour some of the museums. There are also other programs in Chicago and San Francisco.
The photographs emphasized the athletic aspect of the program, but this is not really accurate. This is what I have observed over the years. The program is an academic one and one which I highly recommend. I have not personally seen any of the academic aspect of the program other than the students you see here who are studying. I captured a small, but also important, aspect of the whole program. I hope that I will have an opportunity to write more about the program in the future.
To get more information about the program, go to the Johns Hopkins web site. All the students are gifted academically. There is a cost, but most of the students are in the program through scholarships. They want the many different communities to be represented and they want all the different perspectives to be there.
Thank you, Amy, for your time. My curiosity has been more than satisfied. I am extremely proud that my neighborhood, "walking distance to the rest of the world," is a part of such a fantastic program.
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You are visitor # since Tuesday 4 July 2006, America's Independence Day.
Page created by Reader Michael Bishop.
You can contact me by e-mail
