“What is Youth dDvelopment?” is the first question I always get asked when I proudly state my major when anybody asks me. When responding, I usually get picked and prodded with following questions such as “why can’t you just be a teacher?” or “why are you working so hard to get a degree in babysitting?”. Well, today I am here to tell you what Youth Development is, and why Youth Workers are so passionate about what they do.

When trying to sum up Youth Development in one sentence, it is not an easy feat. However, Youth Development is a unique major found at only a handful of colleges and universities throughout the country, and luckily enough it is a major available to students at Rhode Island College. Youth Development is a unique major opposed to other majors related to working with children. Unlike Education, you are not teaching children Mondays through Fridays in a school. Unlike Social Work, you are not helping kids in only certain situations. While Youth Development is a combination of both of these majors in their curriculum, the product of these students by the time commencement arrives is very different. Youth workers work hard in their major to learn not only how to build a community with children, but a community within their own worlds. Through hard work and determination, Youth Development majors work to build leadership skills, discover ways to talk to children and learn a bag of tricks for children so they have plenty of tricks up their sleeves upon working with youth.

Youth workers are people that are most definitely under appreciated in the workforce. While many Youth Development workers do not work in schools, as I have already stated, they work hard to provide your children with education that many schools cannot provide. They are after school providers, camp counselors, dance instructors and so much more. More often than not, they are working at after school programs such as the YMCA, teaching Girl Scouts survival skills, working at DCYF helping to find safe homes for children and helping kids find their voice at a young age. They do not sit and twirl their thumbs while working as many are constantly thinking of new ideas to keep kids entertained. They are teaching somebody’s child what they didn’t learn in school, they are gaining confidence to assist them in other places a kid may find themselves, and most importantly, youth workers allow kids to be kids. They help promote communication, trust, and leadership skills all while having fun and keeping a safe environment for kids to be themselves in.

These workers are passionate about the job they do with children. They want the kids they work with to succeed in school and will do their best to assist with that, they want to see these kids be strong leaders of tomorrow, and to help students build a strong community that they can take with them wherever they go in life.

By definition (created by yours truly), Youth Development is the combination of Social Work, Non-Profit Studies and education that is eventually put towards supporting and encouraging the youth of today emotionally, socially and mentally. These workers definitely work passionately and endlessly with today’s youth. They are helping our youth to build a better future with a good set of skills and a good head on their shoulders. Does that sound like babysitting to me? I definitely think not. So, the next time you see a youth worker or Youth Development major around, thank them. They definitely deserve the appreciation.