Education Stories

‘I Am’ the domino effect: This changemaker wants to show youth impacted by redlining another reality

When Elijah Dormeus moved to Kansas City in 2019, he brought with him a nonprofit that provides mentorship and leadership training to students in underserved communities, with the end goal of empowering them to achieve their dreams. “The I Am Foundation really came from leading, encouraging, and motivating students to see themselves greater than their…

New culinary center opens in the Northland, offering startup food businesses commercial kitchen space

Mid-Continent Public Library opened the doors to its much-anticipated Culinary Center — with public-facing food and nutrition-focused classes beginning in June, as well as commercial kitchen access for emerging food entrepreneurs. “We are thrilled to finally welcome the community into our space and can’t wait to get cooking!” said Xander Winkel, director for MCPL’s Culinary…

Former Chiefs star wants to change the way employers look at tech talent — starting with untapped ‘forever learners’

A new-to-Kansas City nonprofit is expected to provide young adults from underrepresented backgrounds with workforce development training and placement into technology sector jobs, opening another pathway toward achieving educational, economic, and racial equity. i.c.stars, headquartered in Chicago, launched in Kansas City in April — thanks in part to years of support from NFL Hall of…

How Urban TEC used eye-opening VR tech to bring teen mental health into the real world

Students at two Kansas City, Kansas, high schools are tackling teen mental health issues with the help of virtual reality, shared youth and tech advocate Ina P. Montgomery. From February through April, 28 students from Wyandotte and JC Harmon high schools learned Unity programming software, identified and researched a health concern for youth ages 13…

‘Proud capitalist’ to young social entrepreneurs: It’s OK to make a buck while saving the world

Darcy Howe encouraged budding, would-be founders to think about ways they can effectively scale their mission-driven ideas, drawing on KCRise Fund’s model for social entrepreneurship. “Being socially mission-driven is not mutually exclusive to making money,” Howe, founder and managing director of KCRise Fund, told Enactus students gathered Tuesday during an end-of-year celebration for the University…