April 2022 Edgar Palacios

“Latino students are rarely going to encounter a Latino teacher along their educational journey. We know that when they see themselves reflected in their teachers, they’re going to have better educational outcomes.” KC Cares recently highlighted the work of the Latinx Education Collaborative, an organization founded by Edgar Palacios (KC’19). The organization also recently opened…

March 2022 Carolina Figueroa

Naptown United, a new Indianapolis-based soccer club, was featured in a local news segment. Naptown United is led by Stand for Children bilingual organizer and Peruvian native, Carolina Figueroa (IND’21). Carolina also expanded on the project as part of her Freedom Dreams Project during the Surge Academy program. “We’re really concentrated on the youth in…

August 2021 Sanam Jorjani

Co-Led by Sanam Jorjani (OAK’19), the Oakland Literacy Symposium (hosted by the Oakland Literacy Coalition) will be a two-day virtual conference that will bring together educators, youth development professionals, leaders, design thinkers, and change makers together to learn, strategize, elevate, and collaborate. The idea for this conference also stemmed from Sanam’s 2019 Surge Fellowship capstone…

July 2021 Robbie Curry

Robbie Curry (CHI’20) is bringing to life his Surge Fellowship Freedom Dreams Project, The Marcus Literacy Project, Inc., which is an education tech company that is building a video game designed to support 4th – 8th-grade students to become proficient readers while also developing a love for reading. If you are interested in partnering with…

June 2021 Ajia Morris

June 2021 In an effort to boost its reach and impact, The Greenline Initiative, a social enterprise co-founded by Ajia Morris (KC’20), has for the second year partnered with the Give Black KC campaign — timed to coincide with Juneteenth — aiming to raise at least $10,000 to support its work in redlined neighborhoods. Read…

June 2021 Geoff Fenelus

On June 22nd, Promise Prep, a new Indianapolis public charter school founded by Geoff Fenelus (INDY’21), had their official ribbon cutting ceremony. Along with the festivities, the school also hosted a community open house. See the full recap here. Promise Prep’s vision is that Indianapolis will become a city that delivers on the promise of…