Breakfast Club Blog
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is a curated space where bloggers from around the world contribute content on a continual basis about a variety of topics relevant to in and out-of-school time. The BOOST Breakfast Club blog is at the heart of an ongoing dialogue where expanded learning and education professionals share their personal thoughts and stories from the in and out-of-school time field. They also tell us what they ate for breakfast!
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!
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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Jessica Ochoa
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are continuing our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Jessica Ochoa, BOOST Leadership Team Member since 2020. I truly enjoy reading. Two of my favorite books are Lean In and How Wom...Read More
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Suzanne Hill
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are continuing our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Suzanne Hill, BOOST Leadership Team Member since 2014. How did you get into the OST, expanded learning, or educational field? I...Read More
10 Things You Don’t Know About Kristen Gonzalez
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are continuing our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Kristen Gonzalez, BOOST Leadership Team Member since 2018. I was an Art History major when I started working in the Out-of-Scho...Read More
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Brad Lupien
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are continuing our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Brad Lupien, BOOST Ambassador and Breakfast Club Blogger. How did you get into the OST, expanded learning, or educational field...Read More
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Becky Shultz
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are kicking off our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Becky Shultz, BOOST Leadership Team Member since 2010. I chose to work in After School to be able to help more students stay s...Read More
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Melissa Perez
As we approach the holiday season, we are reminded of how much we value and appreciate our TEAMBOOST partners. So to say THANK YOU to our incredible community we will be spotlighting our BOOST Bloggers, Ambassadors, and Leadership Team members weekly through the end of December. We are kicking off our BOOST Gratitude Blog Series with 10 things you didn’t know about Melissa Perez, BOOST Leadership Team Member since 2017. How did you get into the OST, expanded learning, or educational field?...Read More
Why I Cringe At The Word ‘Daycare’
Every weekday morning, I pick my 14-month-old daughter out of her crib, hold her tight and let her play with her mobile (that’s really just a wind chime). She closely examines the reflective stones and Bee figures, pulls on it, and then lets it wildly swing back-and-forth. This simple moment allows us a gentle minute to connect, feel each other’s energy and inject love into each other’s being. I think of it as the way I fill up my tank (…and hers) before the long day ahead. I’ve done...Read More
Catching Grit
Grit is defined on paper as “courage and resolve; strength of character.” My son, Oliver, turned 13 a few months ago and recently received an opportunity to demonstrate what it means in practice. He has played Irvine Pony League baseball since he was seven. I never asked him if he wanted to play. I signed him up because I wanted to share the experience with him. I threw him a thousand pitches in the park before he ever played his first game. He started in 2016, playing at the “Pinto Machine Pitc...Read More
Mic Drop! Celebrating Creative Youth Development
One of my favorite parts of youth development and out-of-school time programs is when we provide spaces for students to CREATE. If anything, this past year and a half has unearthed the importance of providing healing spaces and room for self-expression. As youth development professionals, we can’t turn away from the fact that our students (and us!) have individually and collectively faced grief, turmoil, anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Take that in for a minute. It’s heavy...Read More
Should Everyone Get a Trophy?
When I was a kid, the winning team took home the trophy, and the MVP got the medal. That was that. When my kids were growing up, everyone got a trophy. There was no MVP because they all succeeded and did their best. I see the value of both, especially when you’re talking about young children. There should never be losers when you work in the nonprofit sector, especially with kids, because all kids win when everyone gets the trophy. Here’s why. This past summer, our organization formed a strate...Read More
From a Learning Disability to a Ph.D.: A Life-Changing Journey
As I opened an email titled “Congratulations! Your dissertation is approved.” I felt tears of happiness slowly running down my cheeks. I smiled, closed my eyes, and took a long, deep breath. It had been a long and difficult journey, but somehow, I felt that it was only a beginning – of a new era, the one where I officially had no reason to doubt myself. “I am a doctor now,” I thought to myself. “I did it, I proved them all wrong.” For as long as I can remember I was told that I wasn’t good enoug...Read More
Illuminating The Beauty-FULL in You
In a post called “Beautiful” in On Wings & Whimsy: Finding The Extraordinary Within The Ordinary, I remember a story wherein my then-three-year-old daughter ponders whether or not she is “beautiful.” Whether or not she is “anything.” It made me shudder, even back then, how prevalent the culture of comparison is, and how from such a young age we judge our worth against the approval or disapproval of others. And I was thinking about it again recently because I saw a funny-true meme that remind...Read More