Kid City’s summer program just ended and this year it provided students with a diverse range of classes. What makes Kid City’s summer program so special is that many of the teachers are incoming freshman and returning college students. These students are eager to share their knowledge with others and want Kid City to be a place of learning, dialogue, and stress relief.

Jazmin Valenzuela, an incoming senior at UCSB, taught cooking classes in order to show students that it is possible to create fast and healthy meals instead of making unhealthy choices for the sake of time. The students made and ate their own meals and will be ready to cook once they move into their first apartments. (The picture above shows the students drinking the healthy juice they made.)

Ricky Santuario is a rising sophomore at UC Berkeley and taught an ethnic studies class in order to empower Kid City students through knowledge. Ricky discussed important topics, such as environmental racism, and also provided a safe space for students to discuss how they feel about the recent violent events in the U.S.

Other programs included Art and Spoken Word, which provided students with the opportunity to release their feelings using their creativity. Students were able  to participate in fun activities, such as painting, writing poetry, and sketching, and were able to forget about their stresses while they were at Kid City.

 All of the classes that were offered at Kid City make the program strong and continue to empower students. Kid City is a gem in the Downtown area and is a place where students can go to feel safe and leave feeling empowered.

 Anakaren is an incoming senior at UCLA majoring in Environmental Science and double minoring in Geography and Theater.