The Youth Life center I visited can be found at 3800 Delmont Street. The center is in the middle of a small residential area and a nice playground is in front.

This is the normal schedule for a day at the Youth Life center.

Cion and Arh’Maun take a break from throwing the football. I asked Cion what his favorite football team is. “The Ravens,” he said. Cion started to root for the Ravens after a field trip he went on to Baltimore a few years ago.

Taniyah (middle) posed for a shot while playing on the playground. Later in the day while I was shooting, she asked me to help her with a math problem. I quickly showed her how to do it so I could get back to shooting. That is when “Mr. Cameraman,” as I was originally called, turned into “Mr. Know-it-all!”

Taniyah, Aldreyah, D’Ajah, Sha’Nya, and Ti’Yon love to climb the play set and run around playing tag during recess.

CJ is a pre-kindergarten student who loves to stop by Youth Life during recess to hang out with some of his cousins who are in Youth Life. He will be a part of the program next year.

Ti’Yon may be small, but his personality is massive. I asked him what is his favorite academic subject to study at Youth Life. Tion replied with a smirk, “Everything is my favorite subject to study at Youth Life. I love it all! I just want to learn!” And when I asked him what he likes to do when he isn’t doing school work, he said, “If I wasn’t doing homework, I would still read. I love to read.”

Meniah, just like CJ, will be participating in Youth Life next year once she enters kindergarten.

Tucked away in this bookcase is a section of Magic Treehouse books which, when I was 5-7 years old, were my favorite books to read.

Students took a break from reading and left their books out on the table. They read lots of the most popular kids’ books, like Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham,” pictured in the top right of the frame.

Behind a closing door is Mi’Aun reading a book to his mentor for the day. I asked Mi’Aun to tell me a little bit about himself, and he replied, “I like peewee football, videogames, and watching Spongebob.” He also mentioned that he much prefers studying math to English.

Michael, a Bonner Scholar, is helping Mi’Aun improve his reading skills.

Mike and Mi’Aun work on reading word for word.

Sha’Nya showed me her new homework log where she writes down the book she is reading, whether or not she liked it, and for how long she read it. Then she has her parents sign the sheet to make it official.

Buddy works on his English homework.

At Youth Life, students also work with computers occasionally. They play educational games online and compete against each other. Ti’Yon and DaNique are playing games after having completed their math homework. DaNique’s favorite color is blue and her favorite sport is basketball.

Nija, when asked what her favorite subject in school is, replied, “PE, then art, then music. I don’t like math very much,” she said while chuckling.

Mi’Aun working on his English homework.

The play set outside Youth Life is a popular place for the kids to play.

Tamiya’s mentor is Sarah, a senior at the University of Richmond. I asked Sarah to tell me about her experiences at Youth Life and why she chose to volunteer at Youth Life. “I’ve been volunteering at Youth Life since freshmen year. I like the atmosphere at Youth Life and have always wanted to be in education for my service. The atmosphere here is laid back and there are great opportunities for one-on-one relationships, which was exactly what I wanted.”

A Youth Life student poses in front of the Youth Life center for a photo. She saw me taking pictures of other kids and asked if I would take her picture, which I gladly did.

Twins O’Miya and OH’Deja help fight the opening door. They don’t want recess to be over.

“I’ve been coming to Youth Life since kindergarten, and now I’m in third grade. So I’ve been coming here a long time.” -Keymani

Some students at Youth Life just can’t seem to sit down, even when they are supposed to be doing their homework.

Students cluttering a table doing English homework.

During recess, the front workroom inside Youth Life becomes empty. When homework time comes around though, each chair has someone working on it.

Tamiya and Ti’Yon look up at me after snacking on some jelly beans.

These three students were working on math problems but insisted they should stop so I could take their picture.

Buddy follows Miss Bethany into the other room to help her clean up after the day’s activities.