Introducing our new Programme Manager!
As we step into the New Year, we’re excited to welcome Imani to her new role as Programme Manager at The Catalyst Collective! Imani studied Sociology and Criminology at the University of Birmingham and graduated with a First Class degree. Whilst studying, she worked as a mentor at a local secondary school which sparked her interest in working with young people in education. Since then, Imani has gained wide experience leading and developing programmes for young people in the non-profit sector and is dedicated to creating meaningful change in education and youth development. Imani has a passion for widening participation and ensuring that young people from marginalised backgrounds have access to opportunities that allow them to thrive. When she is not working, Imani can be found DJ’ing, where she enjoys expressing her love for music and creativity. Alongside this, Imani loves to travel and is currently learning Spanish to build her confidence in navigating new cultures and conversations on her travels. As Programme Manager, Imani is excited to empower young Black girls at the Catalyst to build their confidence, resilience and aspirations needed for long-term success. Drawing on her professional experience, she is keen to bring her creative flair to The Catalyst Collective and support the continued growth and impact of its programmes. We’re excited to welcome Imani to the Catalyst team and see the impact she will make in her new role at The Catalyst Collective. Imani will be responsible for our Core Mentoring programmes, enrichment activities, and will act as Mentor Coordinator for two partner schools.
3 Years of The Catalyst!
A few months back, The Catalyst celebrated its three year anniversary. Chloe Lewis, founder and programme director, shares her reflections on the amazing journey so far. Just over 3 years ago, we were in the midst of a Covid lockdown, and I had volunteered to run a GCSE exam prep workshop – virtually of course – with a group of students from Eastside Young Leaders Academy. The group happened to be all Black girls. They were – as I have found Black girls always are – brilliant, engaged and ambitious. I finished the session and sent a text to Eastside’s founder (who happened to be my dad!) “Do the girls have mentors?” ”No.” ”OK, I’m pretty sure I can find them some!” And so, that was it and we were off. The pilot cohort was that same small group – 6 girls in year 11, paired with me and 5 friends. We met monthly between January and August, had our first mentoring social on Zoom and wrapped up the year with KFC and games. It was, to me, proof of concept – that Black professional women, busy though they were, could spare an hour or so to be role models and support systems for the upcoming generation of young Black women. 3 years later, I have found that to be true, time after time. Now, we’re a team of 7 with 5 partner schools. We’re still working with Eastside, and have expanded to different schools across London, with an ambition to start working with schools in other cities in the coming year. We’ve matched 75 mentoring pairs this academic year, planned and delivered socials and career events, are developing some exciting partnerships with businesses and have a vocal Youth Advisory Board. Our pilot cohort girls are now applying to university, and some are still in touch with their mentors to this day. It’s been the steepest learning curve of my own career – taking something that started as a Covid project, and growing it into a non-profit organisation, with supporters and funders and staff. It’s busy work; relationships are important but not always easy, and in an ever evolving world, the advice and guidance young people need is going to have to keep developing and shifting. But 3 years on, my overriding feeling is gratitude. I’m really grateful to be a part of this community, and to have created the kind of thing I wish I had access to when I was a young person and the only Black girl in my school. I am grateful for the mentors that give so much of themselves to be present role models to our girls, and for their abundant patience, creativity and energy. I’m grateful for the schools that support our programming and recognise why we do what we do, for this group of young people. I’m grateful for the generosity of our funders who have kept this organisation sustainable. To the staff team, who hold everything together. All of this makes it possible for the Catalyst girls to have easy access to brilliant Black women from all professional fields to support them. It means that their first contacts in the career fields they’re aspiring toward are people who look and live a bit like them. Most of all, I’m grateful to the young Black women that make up the Catalyst community, all of whom are on their way to very successful places, but choose to let us be part of their story. Our girls have said: “It’s one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It helps you build a network and someone that you can talk to about anything” and that “being able to talk about my struggles as a young black women felt more at ease because there was someone there who related.” So, if it works for them, it works for me! Here’s to 3 more great years. Our first end of year party, and our most recent one!
Introducing Olivia: our new Programme Administrator
With the newest cohort of Catalyst mentors and mentees setting off on their year-long mentoring journey, it’s time to say hello to Olivia Hylton – the newest member of the Catalyst team. Prior to working at King’s, Olivia worked for a number of youth organisations in London. She studied studied Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, writing her dissertation on the ethical case for supporting the #MuteRKelly movement. While at Cambridge, Olivia was heavily involved in widening participation activities, with a focus on increasing the number of Black students entering top universities. As Programme Administrator, Olivia will be supporting with training and onboarding of new mentors and mentees, as well as planning upcoming events and workshops for the Catalyst Collective. In her spare time, Olivia enjoys weight-training, listening to podcasts and reading up on Black British history. When she’s not working at the Catalyst, Olivia is developing a community-building platform for Black women called Sistren. Olivia said: “I’m really excited to be joining The Catalyst Collective. From an early age, I’ve been inspired my Black women from all walks of life so it’s great to be part of a collective that shares the ethos of promoting positive role models. I’m looking forward to meeting all the mentors and mentees and hearing stories of what they’ve learned from one another”. At the same time, we say a very sad goodbye to Eve who has been with us this year as a Programme Coordinator. Thank you to Eve for all your wonderful contributions to the organisation, and we look forward to continuing to have you as part of the Catalyst community as one of our mentors.
Why Black girls and Black women?
In this month’s blog, we explore more about why The Catalyst model is designed to focus specifically on the experiences of Black women and Black girls. I know I can be a confident Black girl in the future. It all starts now.’ – Catalyst Mentee, Cohort 2021-22 These are the words of a mentee who will be starting our programme in September, and we think she perfectly encapsulates what we want to achieve. The Catalyst Collective matches Black women with Black girls for meaningful mentoring relationships. But, we are often asked, why does our programme focus specifically on Black women and girls? A lack of emphasis on the specific needs of young Black women often leads to grouping students together in a way that masks significant differences in key outcomes. We know that young Black people as a whole experience some disparities compared to young people from other ethnic groups. For example, Black students have the highest university non-completion rates, and are the least likely to be awarded a 1st class or 2:1 degree classification. Whether our mentees want to go to university, do an apprenticeship or take another path, our programme strives to support their attainment in secondary school and beyond. Mentoring encourages the girls to have high aspirations, and helps them to achieve their goals, step by step. Even within the demographic of young Black people, Black girls have a considerably different lived experience to Black boys. For example, despite the fact that Black girls are more likely to progress to higher education than Black boys, Black women are half as likely as Black men to become professors. In educational and professional spaces, Black women are frequently underrepresented. Therefore, there is a significant lack of positive Black female representation in the lives of most Black female school students. In our pilot cohort, 100% of mentees said that it was important to them to have a mentor that they could identify with, and 100% said they were unlikely, or very unlikely to have had a mentor this year without being offered one through The Catalyst Collective. We recognise the specific experiences of Black women, often facing the ‘double disadvantage’ of racism and sexism. Yet, our mentees are aspirational, with many striving to enter fields where few Black women have gone before. The impact of our mentees having role models that they can identify with is immeasurable. One of our upcoming mentees believes she would really benefit from having a mentor to remind her ‘that being a Black woman going into a male-dominated field isn’t impossible.’ This is why we deliver a powerful and tailored intervention to young Black women through our mentoring programme.
My Catalyst Summer
With summer now a distant memory, our first ever Summer Programme Intern, Amara Agwo reflects back on her 6 weeks interning with the Catalyst. Faced with a long summer in the run up to my first year at university, I decided to do something a little different with my time. Through my connection to Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy, The Catalyst’s first partner school, I heard about the programme and wanted to get involved. So, in July, I began my internship. As someone who wants to work in the charity sector in the future, I have found interning with The Catalyst Collective to be a really helpful experience. Right from the start, I felt that my role was valued and meaningful, as I was able to discuss with Chloe what my expectations were and what I hoped to achieve. For example, I mentioned that I enjoy writing, and that I would like to practice these skills in a more professional context. I have now had many opportunities to write articles for this blog that you are reading! I have really enjoyed all the tasks I’ve been working on, as well as the flexibility of my remote internship. There has certainly been no lack of things to do, from helping to match the 2021/22 mentoring cohort, to developing the mentoring resource pack and session plans. The highlight of my internship was definitely the end of year celebration, which I also helped to organise. I found it very moving to hear from the mentors and mentees how the programme had impacted them. It was a chance for me to see the real people behind everything I’d been doing on a screen, and it made me realise the true impact the Catalyst is having. The next exciting step for me is heading to University College London to study European, Social and Political Studies. It will enable me to learn from lots of subject areas that I love, and it will hopefully equip me to make a difference. This has always been my goal, and it is why I feel proud to have been a part of The Catalyst Collective this summer. Although I’m still figuring it out, I know my internship has set a foundation for what I hope to do in the future. And, as a black girl, I am proud to have helped uplift other black women through this programme. I would definitely recommend interning with The Catalyst if you are in year 13 or a university student. It is a great way to gain work experience and develop knowledge and skills whilst having a real impact. Inspired by Amara? If you’re interested in playing a role in Team Catalyst, please get in touch at thecatalyst.mentoring@gmail.com
What makes the Catalyst a Collective?
This month, we explores further what it mean when we call the Catalyst a Collective. At the Catalyst, we believe our mentors are the foundation of the Collective. Carefully selected from a range of careers, interests and backgrounds, they are all passionate about uplifting the next generation of Black women. On our part, we provide them with as much support as possible through training, and regular check-ins with their mentor coordinator and the wider network. In turn, our mentors go above and beyond to contribute to our growing community. Next year as our programme continues to grow exponentially, we look forward to mentors taking on roles within the Catalyst Collective, supporting us in programme development, communications, event planning and organisational development. We also reach out to members of the wider community to give career talks and further guidance to our mentees. But it’s not just the adults that contribute to the Collective. What we do wouldn’t be possible without our expanding network of inspiring and dedicated mentees. We partner with local schools, recruiting, training and supporting our mentees in small cohorts. This model enabling us to ensure that each girl feels fully equipped to be part of the mentoring programme. We also know it’s always better to do things in community, and so we work to create a culture of wellbeing and mutual encouragement within each cohort. At the Catalyst, each mentee helps enrich the collective for the next generation. In our first year, our mentees have been integral to the development of our programme. From speaking to new partner schools about their experiences, to sharing their feedback with us to shape programme design, we are so grateful to them for being part of our community. Our current mentees will also be taking a lead in future mentee recruitment and training, as well as lending their voices to our Youth Advisory Board when it launches this Autumn. And naturally, we would love for them to come back as mentors in the future! We are truly a Collective, and we cannot exist without the contributions of every member of our community. As the Catalyst Collective grows, we are always eager to hear from you. We hope you’ll consider joining us as we build this community together. Words by Amara Agwo
Meet our Mentoring Matches: Chloe and Emmanuella
Each month, we’ll be introducing you to one of our mentoring pairs, so you can hear more about The Catalyst Programme, in their own words. This month, meet Chloe and Emmanuella! Emmanuella is a year 11 student at Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy, our partner school and Chloe is a civil servant, PhD student and the founder and Director of The Catalyst Collective! This month, they shared a little about their interests, their priorities, and what they’re getting out of the mentoring programme so far. Emmanuella: This year school has been on then off and then back on again! Now you’re back in school full time, how are you finding it organising mentoring meetings on top of homework, revision, GCSEs and life…? It’s not been too bad! This year is very busy, but mentoring is also only one meeting every month so it doesn’t get in the way of other things I have going on with school. I’ve also noticed that having a mentor has definitely helped me get more organised, especially in terms of future planning. Before I had a jumbled image of what I wanted to do in the future, but now I’m thinking in a much more organised way. It’s been fun developing those skills with my mentor – we’re not going too fast or too slow. Chloe: When you designed the Catalyst mentoring programme, the intention was that it was always going to be genuinely mutual. So, what are you gaining or learning from having a mentee? I’ve known Emmanuella for years now, so for me this answer is a little different. I have absolutely loved seeing her develop and grow, and I am learning a lot about resilience from seeing her navigate the constant changes that Covid-19 has brought to teenagers lives. As well as that, Emmanuella’s career interests and aspirations are completely different to mine, she is a scientist and I am not! So working together to explore her future options has taught me a lot about career pathways I didn’t know before. What advice would you both give to someone considering being involved in the Catalyst programme next year? Emmanuella: Don’t close yourself off to different opportunities! Be as open as possible so you can get the most out of it. It’s only an hour a month but it really helps you make progress towards your future. Chloe: Well, I’m very biased but I think Emmanuella is right and her advice applies for mentors too. You’d be amazed what you can get done in an hour a month – if I wasn’t doing this, I would only have been watching TV! I think this programme can work with just about anyone’s schedule, however busy. What have you both found surprising or interesting about having a mentee or mentor? Chloe: Most things have been interesting to me! There’s always such a big gap between how an adult things young people will act, think or be, and how they actually are. I’m always surprised and impressed by Emmanuella’s resilience, maturity and ability to take big decisions! Emmanuella: I think its the same for me. Getting a mentor, you have an image of what an adult will be like but Chloe’s a lot more personable than the average adult. Chloe: Thanks… I think?! What’s the most interesting activity you’ve done together as a pair? Emmanuella: We had a session where we had a visitor – Rachel. She is a final year engineering student and another Black woman so she gave such a helpful overview of getting from GCSEs to where she is now. It was really nice to meet someone who had a similar career path to me and have a conversation. And finally, the Catalyst model is all about matching Black women with Black teenagers. Why does that matter? Emmanuella: It really does make a difference. I think its important because you can relate with them a lot easier. It’s easier to see yourself in the person sitting in front of you. It’s a lot more realistic and it makes you realise you can achieve the same sorts of things! Our pairs are at their halfway mark already! We’ll keep checking in as they draw their mentoring year to a close at the end of the summer term, and see all they’ve achieved together.
Getting Started
It’s widely known than January isn’t the most upbeat of months. Dark mornings stretch on, the sun seems to set at lunchtime and the Christmas glow has long faded. All of this is before you factor in the latest COVID-19 lockdown and a fresh bout of Zoom-fatigue. January really is a bit blue. But here at The Catalyst Collective, this year January has feeling very different. Less blue, and far more colourful. Because this month, we launched our first ever mentoring cohort! Over the last month, we’ve held mentee training, mentor training and our Mentor Match events. It has been so exciting to meet and prepare both halves of the cohort and then to see everyone together. Each member of this year’s Collective also had the chance to share their reasons for getting involved and their hopes for their mentoring journey. It’s been a month of laughs, getting lost between breakout rooms (!), and the magic that comes when Black women get together. The word catalyst means an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. This is our hope for our brand new pairs; that the experience of mentoring would bring about something significant, both in the lives of the mentees and the mentors. And so, just like that, we’re off! Stay tuned…!
