Music and Story Credits:  “The Compulsive Apologizer,” by Chandler Tippet “Hannah” by Entheos Charter School Students “Bad Idea” by  Sam Reading “The Visit” by Mary Nejatifar“You think You’ve Got It Bad” - by Arcane (Rylee Hopkins, Eoghan Knibbe, Sam Clower) (A Musicology Band) “Emma and Elliot” by Elliott Emery & Emma Jordan (Summer Songwriting Class) “Transpose Mixdown”  by Mary Nejatifar (Story Excerpt from “The Compulsive Apologizer”): If you were to meet me, you’d probably notice that I apologize pretty much whenever I talk. I am a compulsive apologizer. For as long as I can remember, I have apologized for just about everything. Sometimes I even apologize for giving a friend a compliment. Whether I’m actually making a mistake or never actually doing anything wrong at all, I can’t help but feel like I have done harm in some way. People tell me that I’m a really nice, great guy and I have no reason to apologize, but something inside me just makes me not believe it and forced out a sorry. I don’t know why. Sometimes it even feels like I’m saying sorry for the fact that I exist. I don’t know why I do this, but if I had to pick a reason, I would probably say that a mix of my autism and my anxiety disorder plays a big part in this. Jo Reed: That’s an excerpt from The Compulsive Apologizer, created by Chandler Tippen for Loud and Clear Radio, a Spy Hop production. Spy Hop is a recipient of the 2015 Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. And this is Art Works, the weekly podcast produced at the National Endowment for the Arts…I’m Josephine Reed. Last November, First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed representatives from twelve programs across the country to the White House to present them with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is the nation’s highest honor for after-school arts and humanities programs. It celebrates organizations that open new pathways to young people’s creativity, expression, and achievement outside of the regular school day.  And one of the 2015 recipients was Spy Hop, a media arts and education program in Utah that mentors young people in a variety of digital arts. That is the very bare bones of Spy Hop. Here to fill us in on the rest is Spy Hop’s executive director, Kasandra Ver Brugghen. And throughout this podcast, we’ll hear music and audio pieces created by Spy Hop’s students. Jo Reed: Tell me a little bit about Spy Hop. If you…if you had to describe it to somebody who had never heard of it, what would you say it was? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Yeah, well, we talk about ourselves as a creative youth development organization. So, it’s a youth development organization that utilizes the digital arts as a tool of empowerment and education and engagement for young people. So, we provide mostly out-of-school-time programming in the media arts; so, everything from an intro, intermediate, to advanced program in film making, digital design, animation, gaming, audio engineering, radio production, music production, full spectrum of media arts programming. Jo Reed: How does it work? Does Spy Hop have a center? Do you go to the students? Do the students come to you? Kasandra VerBrugghen: We have a media arts center in downtown Salt Lake City, but we also work in partnership with a number of Title I schools and other youth service organizations throughout the valley and beyond. In fact, just last year, we started a statewide outreach program in schools where we go into the schools and work with young people and their teachers and have reached – last year was five thousand, this year we’re anticipating about seven thousand. So, a pretty broad reach of a program. Jo Reed: How did the organization come together? Kasandra VerBrugghen: We started with sixteen-- going on seventeen years ago. And it was born out of an alternative after-school tutoring program, an experiential tutoring program, if you will. And it was founded by two gentlemen, Rick Wray and Erik Dodd. And Rick came from the alternative education sphere and Erik was a videographer and, so, the two of them decided they were going to do a film project with a group of teenagers. They started out with twelve teenagers at the beginning of the year. They did a film project with them and at the end of the year, they still had twelve teenagers with them. And if you know anything about teenagers <laughs>, engaging them for that period of time and that kind of a commitment is indicative of the quality and the relevance and importance of that kind of programming. So, they were on to something. They did another project and a year later they decided they would spin this off and turn it into its own organization. So, we became a 501(c)3 in 1999 and the program grew from there. So, starting out with film making at its roots, and documentary film making, really, at its roots, we then added graphic design, we added music, we added radio, we added game design. So, we’ve just, over the years, continued to build and build and build and adding different mediums to the programming. So, we now offer fifteen to twenty different programs. Jo Reed: Let me just interrupt you for a moment. How big is the staff? Kasandra VerBrugghen: We’ve got a staff of twenty, full time. We have full-time teaching artists that are salaried professionals that work with our young people. So, the organization has just really grown tremendously to meet the needs of the community. Teenagers really crave this opportunity for self-expression and opportunity to meet other young people who are interested in the same things they are. So, they find a shared passion with others and they develop a sense of belonging, a sense of community – a sense of identity, really – and develop really critical twenty-first century skills, you know: learning how to communicate and collaborate and, you know, all of that. Jo Reed: Describe the facility and the equipment that they use. Kasandra VerBrugghen: So, we have a media arts center downtown and that is… it’s about a six thousand square foot facility that includes…like, right now I’m in one of our recording studios. So, we have two small, you know, -ish recording studios and a control room. We’ve got a film studio, its “-slash-screening room”. It’s an open floor plan and we’ve got a computer lab and other classrooms. So, that’s our space; our media arts center. But, then, we also have media carts. That’s what we call them. Essentially, its Pelican cases full of computers and cameras and recorders and that’s what we use to take out into the community in working with students there. Jo Reed: Is there a charge for the students at all? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Oh, no. Most students there’s not. I mean, there are – of the nearly seven thousand young people that we serve probably – like, maybe twenty-five students are in a tuition-based program. And those are our real big advanced capstone programs that are really small classes where they are, you know, spending upwards of six hundred hours a year working on projects. So, it’s just a little bit different of a model. Most of our programs are totally free for students. Jo Reed: All your teaching artists are full-time Spy Hop employees. Why is that important? Kasandra VerBrugghen: First of all, they’re mentors. So, the key to this kind of programming is relationships that get built between from artist to artist, inter-generational artist relationships. So, we have teaching artists who are professionals that have had careers in these fields and they can connect. It’s an authentic relationship that exists between young artist and an older artist, if you will, and they serve as models for these young artists. So, they are a role-model. They’re a mentor. Oftentimes, we have young people that are coming through the program that while, yes, they’re here to develop their artistic self and, you know, be able to develop the skills that they need in order to become more developed artists. You know, oftentimes, they’re coming from places where there are struggles. You know, they’re coming from communities where they don’t have the networks and the support that they need. (Music) So, they look to our mentors for support. You know, so it’s that kind of a relationship that gets developed between mentor and mentee in many ways. So, we talk about our pedagogue as being mentor-based, project-based, and inquiry-based. And the mentor piece is key. Jo Reed: Can you talk a little but more about Spy Hop’s insistence on a full-time artist teacher? Because many after-school programs are staffed with part-time teachers, not full-time. Kasandra VerBrugghen: So, if you have adults that are coming and going in a young person’s life, they don’t develop as strong of a bond and as strong of a relationship. So, that’s key. That’s number one. Number two, it’s really critical in the fidelity and the quality of the curriculum and the program. So, our mentors define who we are and what we’re trying to achieve as an organization. They’re very involved in strategic planning. They’re involved in every aspect of the organization. So, it’s critical to have an engaged set of mentors that are helping to define who we are as an organization and what we’re trying to achieve. They’re in there, you know, day after day, in the classroom. So, they’re the ones that really are able to ensure the high quality programming that we have. And then also, you know, it’s interesting, the Wallace Foundation did a study, oh, it’s almost two years ago now. Jo Reed: Yeah, I read it. Kasandra VerBrugghen: Did you read that? Yeah. And one…one of the things that came out of that was really interesting. And when they looked at all of us that were providing this kind of programming, one of the common elements of our program is that we did have full-time teaching artists. So, I think more and more you see that. And I think the reason is because you see it in the success and the impact that we have on the lives of the young people we’re serving when we do have full-time teaching artists. Jo Reed: How were the students chosen? Kasandra VerBrugghen: You know, it just totally varies. We never turn a student away. I mean, so, because we have intro, intermediate, and advanced programs and community programs, there are all points of entry. So, we do a lot of outreach in schools. We do a lot of community events where we’re in the community. A lot of our students come to us via word-of-mouth from other students. Then we also have our more advanced programs, our apprenticeship program and our advanced programs, where the students actually apply. For example, our apprenticeship program, they put in ten hours a week. So, it’s  four hours of in-class time, plus an additional six hours of lab time – of, you know, art lab time, media lab time. And they’ve got to be ready for that and it’s not so much “Do they have the skills?”, but “are they ready in terms of their ability to commit to others students in their program, in their classroom?” So, there’s a real element of peer-to-peer accountability in our programs, which, makes for a, again, really high quality work that comes out of our students, because they’re holding one another accountable. But that’s critical and that’s key. So, you know, sometimes if a student isn’t ready for that, meaning that they just don’t feel like they can commit to that, then they will attend one of our shorter experiences. Or, we have a drop-in program that runs on Friday nights. It’s an open mic, kinda open studio program. Any young person can come in and, you know, it’s a way for them to not so much have to commit to a long-term experience. So, really, we have a number of points of entry and , you know, a number of different ways that young people come to us, which enables us to serve a real diverse set of young people, too, which is super-critical. Jo Reed: Do a lot of students come back? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Yeah. Jo Reed: --and do follow-ups, like, begin at the beginning and then go to the intermediate-- Kasandra VerBrugghen: Yep. Jo Reed: --classes, then the advanced?  Kasandra VerBrugghen: Yeah. Exactly. We have, you know, sixty to seventy percent retention rate. So, they’ll come in for a shorter experience. They will then start developing relationships and honing their craft and then want to continue to develop that. Jo Reed: So, most students continue to return to the program and to take advantage of everything that the organization offers? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Exactly. A lot of our students do. And we do serve a lot of students out in the community, too. Those are a little bit more transient students. So, for example, we have a full youth-in-custody program where we work with both foster youth and then youth in an incarceration facility. So, Sending Messages is a program, in fact, that the NEA has funded for several years - Jo Reed: That’s right: We did a podcast on Sending Messages. It’s a great program! Kasandra VerBrugghen: Oh, that was you! Yeah. I remember that. So, those students are gonna be a little bit more transient. Although we have had students when they get out of the facility and they come to us and take a program here. So, that’s one of our goals. But that doesn’t always happen. So, you know, we do work with students that only are with us for one program. But our hope is that they stay with us for a longer period of time and that’s where we know we’re affecting real positive change, because we’re seeing them year after year. Jo Reed: And how much autonomy are they given in terms of the subject matter that they deal with, whether it’s on film or through audio or through design and gaming? Kasandra VerBrugghen:  Everything is youth-driven. It’s their voice, it is their authentic stories. So, a lot of story development happens in all of our classes, doesn’t matter what medium. (Story Excerpt from “The Visit”) I pull my suede bag over my head and across my shoulders. I make sure to lock the front door behind me. I have a weird feeling, a feeling that I haven’t really felt before. I walk out to the old, brown Buick and start it up. I give myself some time before, to prep myself for the visit. I start driving just like she used to; fast, but safe. I exit my neighborhood and order a Coke to mask the nerves. I think I’m ready. I close my eyes and I tell them to join me. I reopen them and see their sapphire blue eyes looking right at me. They’re here. I say a quiet hello, but I’m kind of shy. What do they think of me? They tell me I’m beautiful and ask me how I’ve been. He’s just smiling and I know what he’s thinking: First year of college. Wow. “Did you come to my graduation?” “Of course, sunshine Mary.” No one has called me that in years. Am I really full of sunshine? I stop myself from losing it. I can’t show them my sorrow. That’s the last thing that they want from me. I just smile and we keep driving. I have my hand in her lap and they’re both holding it. I can feel the warmth. I can feel their past. All the trials and experiences they’ve gone through. I can feel it in just one touch. They smell like old spice and cloves; my favorite smell in the world. Their laughs are so engrained in my memory. All I can do is laugh with them. Kasandra VerBrugghen: For example, I’ll talk about our most advanced film program, which is PitchNic. And there’s the narrative side of PitchNic and then there’s the documentary film side of PitchNic and every single student in the class develops a story or a treatment and then they pitch their idea, their film, to a panel and the panelists choose three stories on the narrative side, three stories on the doc side, and then those go back to the students and then the students choose two films to make. So, two narrative films, two documentary films. And these are their stories. I mean, these are their ideas. We screen those films on the big screen to a sold-out audience and then, from there, a number of public agencies, you know, wanted to share the films. So, the work that our students do have broad impact and influence in the community and they are really able to help drive and help engage in, if you will, the civic discourse in their communities. So, it’s really important that we give students a platform from which to share their voice and to share their stories and they do. So, yes, very student-driven. And you see it! You see it in the quality of the work. Jo Reed: What’s the age-range? Kasandra VerBrugghen: We serve seven to twenty, but mostly teenagers during the school year here at the center. But when we work in partnership out in the community, we work with both elementary and junior highs as well. And those tend to be on-site, at the school, you know, at the school. Our students age out at twenty. So, you know, in some of our more advanced programs they will have turned twenty and they’re just finishing up, but they age out at twenty. Jo Reed: I’d love to talk about some more of the programs. We mentioned PitchNic. On the audio side, you have Musicology and Loud and Clear Youth Radio. Let’s talk about those two. What’s Musicology? Kasandra VerBrugghen: So, Musicology, it’s a year-long band experience. Young people come together, they form a band. They write their own songs. They work together and composing their music and their work and then they go into a professional recording studio and they record an album and they perform at a record release party. And then they perform around town as well in various community events. It’s a full length album that they produce. So, you know, seven to ten songs and the music is all originally written, originally produced. (Music) The students, most, have never met one another before. They all are coming here as individuals. So, it also gives them an opportunity to experience what it’s like to work in a team and have to compromise your ideas and your love for genre and what kind of music you want to produce. So, all the music that comes out of here tends to be really different. It doesn’t really necessarily fit into one particular category of music. That’s one of our advanced programs. Jo Reed: What about Loud and Clear? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Loud and Clear is a youth radio program and that’s a program that we have been running in partnership with KRCL, which is our local community radio station here. And the students learn, I mean, all the FCC rules, all aspects of running the board and every Saturday night from nine to ten p.m., they have their own show on KRCL. And they put together their whole playlist for the evening. Oftentimes, they’ll invite local up-and-coming bands to come in and perform live. And they also all do radio documentaries and just sort of radio pieces. And then, again, that program is a year-long experience as well. And then once the summer hits, that program ends, but the students that are in that program continue to run their show. So, Saturday night in the summer time, it’s still Loud and Clear Youth Radio. It’s still Loud and Clear, and it’s still being run by our students from the previous year. We’ve had our own show on KRCL since 2002. (Music) Jo Reed: You know, you’re dealing with students, teenagers and tweens, and at that age peer pressure is so intense. Among girls, too, but really among boys about not wanting to not know something and being afraid to fail. How do you create an atmosphere where students really feel free to put themselves out there? Kasandra VerBrugghen: We do really rigorous program evaluation and we hear this from our students. And one of the things we hear from them is they don’t feel judged here. They feel safe to express themselves here. They feel like they are treated as equals by their mentors here. They feel like this is their home away from home. I mean, these are all the things that we consistently hear from our students. And how do you create that environment is that this is a shared passion that young people have, and when they come here, you know, everything else just falls away. You know, there’s no pretenses. You know, there’s no cliques here. They’re learning a tremendous amount here and it enhances their academic experience in so many ways, but when they’re here, they feel free to express themselves in a way that they are not able to do outside of Spy Hop and that enables them to grow and gain the confidence and the self-esteem and the self-awareness that they need, that when they go out into the real world, they may be very different from another kid in their class. But they’ve gained their confidence through the successes that they’ve experienced here at Spy Hop in their work. (Story excerpt from “Transpose Mixdown”): I almost died the day I was born. And every other day after, until modern medicine held my hand and ran. I was reborn nine days later into a healthy little girl with starry eyes, not knowing that the rest of my life, I would hold a misery in my little heart. In the womb, my pulmonary and aorta arteries transposed. They switched with each other, altering the way my blood flows, which is deathly. They call this ‘transposition of the great arteries’. The only option for this condition is an open heart surgery. I finally had mine, which was a brand new surgery at the time, on August 5th, 1996. My ninth day of life. It took the doctors roughly twelve hours; leaving my family on the edge of their seats, and probably, their minds. My mother describes the day as a blur. I was taken from her arms minutes after birth and was immediately life-flighted to the primary children’s medical center in Salt Lake City. After my surgery, my family awaited an update. The surgeon, Dr. McGew’s (sp?), first words to my mother were, “I almost killed her.” This was caused by an overdose of potassium infusion. It was just too much for my little heart as it gave up and stopped beating completely. When I talk about my close-to-death story, I speak like it was a memory. But it isn’t a memory. It’s something that so many people talk about. I have never not known of my story. What I am telling you is everyone else’s perception of it. Kasandra VerBrugghen:  It’s a place where young people feel like they can let down their guard. And, all artists talk about this, if you’re able to know yourself well and to make yourself vulnerable and feel safe in that vulnerability your best work will come out. One of the things that we talk about a lot and one of the values of this program is the fact that we’re able to bring a real diverse set of young people from all different experiences and backgrounds and races and ethnicities to come together to co-create together, to learn together and by doing that, they develop a sense of understanding and a sense of compassion, a sense of belonging in a community that they otherwise wouldn’t. And, so, it’s really valuable in our opinion to bring different young people together so that they learn that the best work comes from a diverse set of ideas and opinions. And they see it. And so they’re willing to, like, open up to it. Jo Reed: What do you think are the keys to your success? Kasandra VerBrugghen: Yeah, I mean, number one, it’s our teaching artists. It’s our mentors. I mean, they really define and inform the excellence of these programs. So, that’s number one. Number two, it’s about our community and our community willing to support a program like this. We’re very different. It’s very innovative. A lot of people have taken risks on us and have been with us since Day One. And then we’ve got a really amazing group of young people in this community that really seek out this work and it is a place for them to feel-- you know, gain these skills, develop their sense of self and confidence and belonging and community and all that and they perpetuate that. They keep that going. You know, we have siblings that their little brothers and sisters come into the program and then the next generation and next. You know, what I mean, sort of like these little… it’s really cool to see, but it’s also our students that want this. At the end of the day, it’s supply and demand. So the demand is for sure is there and then we have the ingredients to make it successful. Jo Reed: Kasandra, congratulations for receiving the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and for all the work you do at Spy Hop. Kasandra VerBrugghen: Well, thank you. I appreciate your time. Jo Reed: My pleasure. Thank you so much. That was Kasandra VerBrugghen. She’s executive director of Spy Hop. And many, many thanks to the Spy Hop family for the use of their work. Spy Hop was a recipient of the 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is a program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The awards are presented annually in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. You've been listening to Art Works produced at the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out how art works in communities across the country, keep checking the Art Works blog, or follow us @NEAarts on Twitter. For the National Endowment for the Arts, I'm Josephine Reed. Thanks for listening.