April 25, 2022 Season 2 Episode 24

Minnesota, United States: J.T. Evans absolutely embodies energy and enthusiasm. His excitement for the work he does with young people is electric! Hearing him talk about how he builds relationships and helps instill skills and an appreciation of the learning process with young people will surely energize you. And you’ll get a taste of his youth work in the Hot Cheetos and Takis rap his young people created. Enjoy!

Watch the Hot Cheetos and Takis video.

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J.T. Evans

Youth have helped me realize because my ability to stick in there all the time because there has been times where it's like, Man, I'm so burnt out right now, I just want to give up and you know, and I'll have that from time to time. I think that's natural with anybody, no matter if they're doing what they love. Sometimes you have those moments and you just gotta reel yourself back and remember why you're here, what you do it for, why you love it, and go from there.

Paul Meunier

Hello, I'm Paul Meunier, the executive director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association. And I'm a youth worker at heart. How lucky am I? I have the privilege to meet youth workers from around the globe and learn their stories and share them with the entire world. I'm glad you're listening because together we'll learn how their life experiences shaped their youth work. As you listen, I encourage you to consider how your experiences shape what you have to offer young people. Welcome to this edition of The Passionate Youth Worker. Hi, everybody. For this episode, we're joined by JT Evans from Minnesota here in the United States. JT is the Best Buy Teen Tech Center Coordinator for Hope Community. JT helps young people express themselves and build skills with audio and digital technologies. He's also an artist himself, and has produced videos on YouTube that have received millions of views. JT, thanks for being a guest on The Passionate Youth Worker.

J.T. Evans

Hey, what's up, Paul, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Paul Meunier

It's so cool to have you here. I can't wait to dive in and learn more about you. And even in just that response, JT, just so full of enthusiasm, and just everything that you've described to me you love to get into, where did that sense of enthusiasm come from?

J.T. Evans

That's a good question. I've always been enthusiastic and passionate at anything I do. Both of my parents are pretty enthusiastic and loud talkers, as well. So, I probably got it from them. I come from a family who loves to have fun, loves to compete and play games and stuff. So, I'm always enthusiastic, because I'm trying to do my best in any way possible.

Paul Meunier

Yeah, well, I love your enthusiasm. And as soon as I met you, I could pick up on it. Anybody watching this or hearing it in the tone of your voice that you're presenting, is going to pick up on things that you get into, you just dive into deeply. And I think about that as sometimes leadership, you know, finding your passion really jumping into things. Do you consider yourself a leader? And have you always thought about leadership and things you could do to help advance social causes, things like that?

J.T. Evans

Yes, I absolutely consider myself a leader. But I think it took a little bit of time for me to realize the significance of being a leader and the type of influence I have. I've said before, in high school and in school, I was always kind of a natural leader, like decisions need to be made with friends on what we're going to do, or how we're going to solve some sort of problem, I was never afraid to just step up and be like, Okay, this is what we're going to do, this is how we're going to do it. And then obviously, as you transition into being a youth worker, you have so much responsibility to determine what we're going to do how we're going to do it. All the kids are looking to you a lot of times. That's definitely something I kind of worked into, and continued to get better at it. It kind of happened naturally. But then as you start learning the importance of youth work and how to actually do it and take trainings and stuff, you're like, wow, I really am a leader and displaying leadership. And really, the goal is to influence other young leaders under me to do the same thing. So, really, you're just trying to influence other people to be good at leadership through your own leadership, you know.

Paul Meunier

Got it, right? Set the example. So, your parents, you got the enthusiasm from them, they're kind of outgoing, social people. Are your parents leaders too? Or are you kind of a new generation in your family to take on that leadership?

J.T. Evans

Both of my parents were leaders to some extent. Obviously, you have to be a leader to have a family, have kids and things like that. My dad is a leader because he runs his own business. So he's always, you know, had employees and things like that. So, I guess I've always been able to pick up on some of those traits as well. Just naturally, always wanting to have fun and be outgoing. You kind of have to be a leader because if you don't do it, there's a chance nobody will. So, it's like, Okay, I'm gonna do this because I want to have fun and influence other people to do the same thing. So, I think that's kind of where I got a little bit of my leadership skills from.

Paul Meunier

You seem to be able to insert fun into leadership. Where do you think that there is room for fun in working with young people? Is it all fun? Or is it all serious? Or is it just a blend of the two?

J.T. Evans

It's a blend of the two. I mean, in reality, you would love it to always be fun, you know. It's all about finding a balance and knowing when it's time to be fun, and outgoing and goofy. And then when it's time to like, Okay, this is actually something serious, we need to focus on this. And I've always actually been kind of known for that. With youth work. I've done a lot of helping kids record music and perform music. And everybody always kind of said, no, okay, here goes a serious che t when we're like getting ready to perform for crowds, or whatever, like, it's always fun and enthusiastic. But then once you really got to hone in to prepare to ultimately reach our goals, I can definitely get serious. But it's always about the kids kind of picking up on that. They want to be held accountable just as much as anybody else. If you're always just super easy on them, or just kind of let them run the show, I think that tends to break the connection when they're looking for someone to look to, and guide them so and that they'll push back like always, and that's natural. But that's how you get the best results. I think.

Paul Meunier

I think you're right, and you bring so much energy and fun into everything. I bet you kids just gravitate towards you. Do you find that to be true? Did they just love to be around your energy and your fun and your ability to kind of meet them on their level? It seems like you got to be so intuitively good at connecting with young people.

J.T. Evans

Yeah, but I think just as much as kids love to be around me, I think it's vice versa, I love to be around them. I feel really comfortable. And they probably pick up on it. It's cool. You know, that's when you're your most genuine and your most honest, so if something bothers you, or if you don't like somebody, you're not going to pay them any attention. As adult we pick up on social cues and like, Okay, I may not like this person or enjoy them, but I'm still going to be an adult about it and be nice and cordial. But you have that raw energy to where it's like, I'm gonna wear my heart on my sleeve. And I've always been that type of way. Luckily, I've never like really disliked anybody. So, I I've never give off that vibe. I can appreciate everybody and the good qualities and everybody, which is also good and youth work. That's how I connect with kids. Even with family, like the little kids and cousins and stuff like that they're always like there goes JT at the family reunion just playing games with the kids and stuff. And it just kind of happens naturally. I don't think about it. But um, but yeah, how it goes, I enjoy it just as much as they enjoy being around me.

Paul Meunier

That's an absolutely wonderful trait. And I've asked a lot of people about having young people gravitate towards them, you're the first one that turned that around, almost immediately said, Hey, but I like being around young people. What a wonderful attribute and skill and just natural curiosity you have about young people. That is so cool. What do you get out of being with young people? Why do you like it so much?

J.T. Evans

I touched on a little bit before. It's usually genuine, it's not fake what you get from them. You also learn a lot. I'm always conscious of trying to apologize when I could have done something better. Or like, Hey, I kind of made a mistake here, my bad, because I want them to see that. I'm open to being vulnerable and admitting to mistakes. They can kind of see that it's okay to do that. And it's okay to learn from one another, taking feedback. And it's just fun. It's doing normal adult talking, I get bored. A lot of the times I'm always somebody who's like, Okay, if we're just going to sit here and talk. Nowadays, you have Heads Up on your phone and things like that. You could just immediately start engaging and doing icebreaker activity. So, I've always naturally kind of been like that, because I don't like to typically sit still unless I'm really concentrating on something. But if you're in a social setting, it's like let's do something. Let's move around. And obviously, kids have that exact same energy. So, it's a match made in heaven, I guess.

Paul Meunier

It is. It sounds like you were built to do this kind of stuff. Did you always know you wanted to work with young people or did you fall into this by accident? What is your story into youth work?

J.T. Evans

Definitely, I would say completely by accident. So, I got like, three main passions, One is always been sports as a kid, I love sports. Two was music. And then as I got older and understood youth work, I think my third passion would be youth work. But I was super into music. I went to school for audio production and engineering at IPR in downtown Minneapolis. My goal was always to not be in the forefront like an artist or a singer but I am creative and artistic to where I love creating art and I love creating art with people but more being in the background. So, like the songwriter, the engineer, the producer, making the beats and stuff. So, that is really what got me into making music. And as I was just graduating college, doing studio sessions, working with different artists, one of the artists I was working with happened to be looking for someone for a youth working job at the YMCA. He's like, Hey, I don't know how to work any of this equipment. But I'm working with some kids on stuff. And we need somebody. So it was kind of completely by accident. So, I was like, Yeah, I kind of need a job. I was young, like early, maybe 20. Exactly. Needed consistent income. Because obviously, it's difficult when you're just recording local artists and trying to get a consistent income and stuff like that. So, I took the job, just knowing like, hey, it has something to do with music. So, I'm gonna do that. And I ended up being pretty good at working with youth, was able to combined that trait with my trait of being really good with music, and then combine them together to have what I think has been a pretty successful, exciting career in youth work.

Paul Meunier

Yeah, I've had the opportunity to view some of the videos and some of the music you've made with young people. And we're gonna talk about that a little bit after the break. But man, you do beautiful work. And I gotta believe that's so powerful for the young people. When you first started your job working with young people, did you know right away this was going to be a good fit? Or did you have that period where man, I don't know if this is right, for me, sometimes young people can be a little difficult. Did you know right away, it was perfect or did you have to kind of evolve into that role?

J.T. Evans

Yeah, I hear you. And you clearly have some unique talents to bring to the field of youth work. But I want to ask you, besides your technology skills, your understanding of stuff in the studio, what one personality trait or quality about you, JT, can you bring to youth work that maybe it's just you, uniquely you? Um, a little bit of evolving. I think kind of knowing like, I am good at this on a larger scale. But even the first month, me and my partner and best friend who I started with, Ralph, we got like Staff for the Month, our first month working at the YMCA, running programming. So, it was like being recognized for the music program we were doing which I guess, was pretty innovative, like making actual like songs with youth and releasing them and giving them a chance to participate in project-based learning where you start them from beginning to end. People recognized that that was special and innovative, and we're good at it. So, even just that being like, Oh, we got Staff of the Month, we must be kind of good at this. So, that developed more confidence. And then it's funny, because I feel like that's exactly my job with young people is to develop their confidence and be like, Hey, man, you're really good at this. I think you should pursue this, this is how you can get better. So, it's kind of like it's always a correlation. Like I'm being mentored constantly by other adults who like youth workers and things like that. But then when I look at it, it's like, really, if I just flipped this, I'm this person for the kids. So funny how that works sometimes when I think about it, Um, I don't know if I can pick one trait that is I have that nobody else has, because everybody has a lot of different traits. But I do always tell people, and I'll probably speak on this later on in the podcast, that relationships are so important, and my ability to build relationships, to really do good youth work, you have to be able to build trusting relationships, so the youth are comfortable and able to trust you and let you guide them. And the only way to build relationships is to be able to relate. So, I think just the fact that I'm really interested in music, I love music, I'm really youthful and energetic. Kids can relate to that. I like to DJ as well. So, I'll DJ a lot of the youth dances and things like that. So, I'll give you back hey, if I was going to DJ your dance, what would you want me to play, what kind of music? So I'm always taking advantage of different interests that I like and the youth like to be able to like, sustain and build relationships. So, I think that's my best trait.

Paul Meunier

What I'm hearing from you, what I pick up on is you're just inquisitive about people in general right? And young people, man, you just like to pick their brain and for sure where they're coming from and what is inside them, what makes them tick. Would you say that's accurate?

J.T. Evans

No. Yeah, super accurate. I'm actually glad you said that because I didn't think about it. But that's one thing I used to always kind of admire about and notice about my dad.  We'll like be in Florida for a vacation, we'll meet somebody that we've never met and he's just like grilling them with questions. Not in like a bad way but just curious about it wondering and I think I have that too. I can get interested in pretty much anything. And even in school I remember having different groups of friends because I was interested. I love sports so I can hang out with the cool jock. But I'm also like, I like playing chess. I like superheroes. So, if someone's really interested in comics, I'm going to ask them about it and how they feel. So, it's kind of just being naturally, like you said, inquisitive, helps you start building relationships and learning about people. So...

Paul Meunier

Yeah, your curiosity is beyond comparison, you're just so into things, you're so inquisitive about understanding how things work, and what makes people work. And I've learned that so quickly about you. And I gotta believe that it's just so powerful in your work with young people. I can't believe it but we're already ready for a quick break. So, we're going to take a short break. But when we come back, I really want to learn some of the things you've learned about youth work. And also, I want to talk to you about some of the videos you produced and, in particular, Hot Cheetos and Takis. So we'll be right back after this break. Oh.

Jade Schleif

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Paul Meunier

JT, right before the break I was asking you about some of the things you've learned on the way. Is there anything that young people have taught you about yourself that you think has been kind of a side benefit of being a youth worker? Personal growth?

J.T. Evans

I actually asked this question a couple of weeks ago, I was trying to figure out, people have asked me to start training other youth workers. And they're like, Well, yeah, just thinking like, well, you're good at youth work. So, you could just tell people how to be good at youth work. And I was like, I have no idea. I just show up and cool stuff happens. Like after a week of just struggling and being like, stuck, like, Dude, I don't know how I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna type this up in format, make a science of it. I just started asking kids and one of the kids was like, you're actually really patient. And I was like, You're right, because it does take a lot of patience to deal with kind of anybody really, but youth, especially, that are going through so much different things. A lot of youth I work with have multiple challenges, you know, whether it be growing up in tough neighborhoods, or not having stable families, or just the fact that they're teenagers growing with raging hormones, so you never know what mood you're gonna get out of them. Patience is really important. And then just forgiving as well, like, messes up or does something that it's like, dang, I wish he wouldn't have did that. Or I wish she wouldn't have did that. To be able to just forgive them and understand like, you never take stuff personal. I never ever think somebody is doing this to like, or doing anything to come at me because I know they're not. I know everybody has different things they're dealing with. So, just being patient is something that I think of youth have helped me realize because my ability to stick in there all the time. Because there has been times where it's like, Man, I'm so burnt out right now, I just want to give up and you know and I'll have that from time to time, I think that's natural with anybody, no matter if they're doing what they love. Sometimes you have those moments, and you just got to kind of reel yourself back and remember why you're here, what you do it for, why you love it. And, and go from there.

Paul Meunier

I think that's a real honest answer. We all get to that point. This is hard work. Yeah, I think, I don't know, maybe society in general believes that we just hang around and play with kids. But kids that we work with, our young people sometimes have such complex stories and are difficult and sometimes just hard to understand personalities. But if we get to know them, we can find out what makes them tick, and we can really help them. But that's hard sometimes and it can cause burnout. What do you do, JT, when you're at that point? Do you have somebody, do you go talk to Ralph, do you talk to a supervisor? Do you just take some time away and kind of regroup and refocus or what do you do to get that kind of mojo back when you're feeling like those days it's hard to find it?

J.T. Evans

Well, I'll have people I kind of vent to. I really can vent to anybody because it's hard for me. Sometimes people like how are you doing? And you know, you don't usually say Oh, I'm good. And sometimes it's like, I'm actually not good. I'm okay. And then I'm not afraid to say why I'm okay and what's bothering me. So, you can use anybody to vent. And even just by talking, you're learning about yourself. But I think learning as I got older to not focus on the things that you can't control, and don't dwell on it. So, I really when I'm not working, I really try and not think about work. Sometimes that's why I'm good at it. Because I might get a really cool idea at 11 o'clock at night or whatever, and be like, Oh, this would be dope if I do this, with this song, or I'm working on with this kid or whatever. So obviously, that trait helps. But sometimes that trait can be a detriment, if you're constantly focusing on it, you never get a chance to decompress. So, I would say, that's one thing I really try to do. Like on weekends, or my days off, I really try and like focus on what I'm doing. So whether it be playing sports, or going golfing, I just went golfing recently, over the weekend, which is really fun. But doing that kind of stuff really helps me kind of refresh and then get back into it. So that's really important. And being honest, if you needed a break or time off or whatever, you can say that and then I'm lucky enough to have always had really good support system. I actually don't think I've ever, especially in youth work, never had a boss or a supervisor that I didn't really connect with well, and who I didn't trust. There's always been really good trust. And I've always really felt supported. And I think that's why I'm so adamant about doing that for the young people, you know, so that's very important to have as well.

Paul Meunier

So, in your work, at the Best Buy Teen Center, you help young people produce and mix and create videos and music and things like that. And it seems like it works really well. And I want to talk about Hot Cheetos and Takis in just a second. But what did kids get out of being involved with your program? What did they learn? What what benefit do they get from that?

J.T. Evans

Well, I think it's obviously skill sets that's kind of on the surface. Like if you're a youth, you come in all You got a music studio, like I want to go in, and I want to rap and I want to do this. So, obviously, they're learning skill sets and doing the stuff that intrigued them. But once you walk in the door, there's so much other things that they can open up to. So, if you're a youth and you want to make a song in the studio, but then you have to create an album cover album artwork to then release your song, it's like, well, I got to learn how to do that. And then that's another resource, we have a bunch of graphic designing and access to Photoshop and things like that. So, a lot of times in media, one thing can lead to another. Usually, when you're doing projects you're using way more. If you make a song, you're not just using music production equipment because you have to use graphic design for the pictures, or you have to possibly learn how to do video production and things like that. So, there's all sorts of different types of technology that you can learn when focusing on one thing. And I would also say that, while completing projects are important, I think the process is even more important. And sometimes I don't even notice that. So, it's like, oh, we're getting the sound and the sounds gonna be really good. But what was learned during the time, like developing the confidence, developing the skill sets to be able to do that. I've always used this example. So, with kids, it's like, if you can like stand up in front of a crowd and rap or explain to somebody like this is my song, this is how I did this in the studio. Like we have tours a lot here at the tech center, and I make sure the kids are like explaining their work. If you can do that, then it makes it that much easier to present to a class project or when you have a job and you have to speak to people, public speaking, all that kind of stuff. Those traits that you may not think you're gaining while you're learning certain skill sets is like even more important than the skill sets you're actually working on.

Paul Meunier

Beautifully said. What a wonderful opportunity for young people to engage and express themselves in a multitude of ways and not only just express themselves for their mental health, you know, and their ability to dig inside themselves and self-reflect a little bit but actually learning practical skills too, that they could bring into the marketplace somewhere for sure what a great opportunity. Thanks for doing that work with young people. Yeah.  You have shared some of the videos with me and one that really caught my attention was Hot Cheetos and Takis, and it's just the coolest video. It has almost 18 million views on YouTube. And I would like to just play a little bit for our listeners. And then when we come back after just a short take of that, let's find out a little bit more about that. So, let's listen to a little bit of Hot Cheetos and Takis.

J.T. Evans

Sounds good.

Y.N.RichKids (rapping)  24:49

Yo. I go by the name of Dame Jones. I'm with my crew and we gon' show y'all what we be snacking on, ya dig? Hot Cheetos and Takis. Hot Cheetos and Takis. I can't get enough of these Hot Cheetos and Takis. Got my fingers stained red and I cannot get them off me. You can catch me and my crew eating Hot Cheetos and Takis. Bye. Snack snack snack crunch. Snack snack snack munch. Hot Cheetos and Takis. Hot Cheetos and Takis. You can catch me and my crew eating Hot Cheetos and Takis It's about a quarter to a four rollin' to the store. What you 'bout to get? Hah, you already know. Got like 3 or 4 dollars and a couple odd cents. 'Bout to cop me some Hot Cheetos and a lemonade Brisk. I'm ridin' around on my bicycle. Ridin' around on my bicycle. Pull up to the studio 'cause you know the kid be melting them microphones. Munching on my Takis like I just don't care. Then I walk up to your girl and she asking me to share. Bye.  Yo I'm hungry where them Cheetos at? They stay biting like where them mosquito at. I'm on point like an elbow. Hands red like Elmo. My mama said 'have you had enough?' I look and I said 'no,ma'am.'

Paul Meunier

Well, I can't begin to tell you JT how cool that was. When I first listened to it, I walked around, got that on Friday afternoon from you and I walked around all week singing Hot Cheetos and Takis in my head. And you have so many young people involved in this production. There's a whole bunch of different young people doing some of the rap and they get to be the star of the video at different times. How did this whole video come about? Where did Hot Cheetos and Takis come from?

J.T. Evans

So, like I said, I first started doing youth work for the North Community YMCA in North Minneapolis with my partner, one of my best friends. Raphael Jones, a lot of people call him King Rally, that's his producer name. But we started making that program into what it is together. So, at first, so Hot Cheetos and Takis happened in 2012. I think our first ever beats and rhymes class. That's what we used to call it was beats and rhymes the program where kids will come and learn the technical sides of music, performing. We started I think 2009. Until Hot Cheetos and Takis our main focus was always like, okay, we can put together really high-quality songs and music that kids can kind of present like it's music, we're kind of lucky because you have something tangible to show. There's a lot of different types of youth work that it's a little harder to show off what you were doing. But luckily, with music, it's like, hey, we spent all year meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours after school, working on this album and recording and writing and mixing. And now we have a full CD that we can pass out to parents and families and like other people, and we're getting it played on the radio. So, we're both producers and engineers so we were putting our resources together. People we knew, graphic designers, people at the radio station, really putting that all together to be able to showcase youth voice, which is all you're really doing in general is you're giving youth a platform to speak and express themselves. Moving into the summer of 2012 we had never done a music actually we did try one music video but it didn't end up working out that well. But this was the first ever one we completed. And we knew all along there was a teacher at Nellie Stone Johnson that we used to work for, for after school program. They're like, you see all these kids eating all these snacks, you guys should make a song about it. And maybe we should try and shoot a video. And I was like that's a really good idea. So, we started noticing what they were eating, which was at the time, Hot Cheetos. And then Takis, which was, at the time kind of a more of a corner store thing. Now they're in all sorts of normal grocery stores and Target and Cub and all that stuff. And it's crazy looking back, because I remember like being in Cub and being like, wow, they have Takis in the front row now, just literally, because when our song took off, so that was kind of crazy. The whole process was a really good learning experience as well. But so we decided we're going to take some of our more successful, charismatic kids. We're really going to try shoot this video. So, we'd ask the kids are you guys interested in this? Do you like this? Here's the idea. As we call we also had a youth that helped us kind of make the beat as well. So, not just the artists on the song, the rappers were involved. Yeah, one of the kids was also involved, like helping us produce the song. We did all that. We made the song first and we're like, okay, where are we going to shoot so we literally just went to like important places in the neighborhood that was important to the kids. That's why it resonated with everybody. It just looks like kids having fun doing their own thing. It didn't seem like it was forced. It seemed really natural, which it was. And then yeah, with two weeks once we put it out, it went to a million views and all these Billboard and Rolling Stone started talking about it, and it got really crazy. But it all started with us just trying to have fun with youth. So...

Paul Meunier

Thank you for giving those young people that opportunity. I can't imagine how confident and proud they were of that final product. They had to just be loving every minute of that.

J.T. Evans

Yeah, no, super. And it's cool, because even before that, all those members of that song, were members of previous programs we had run. There was a process for them, like even the first time they had a CD to sell or performance at the end of the year talent show, they were able to kind of understand like, Whoa, this is really exciting. But as you gain and keep growing, you're like, now you're actually prepared for like, whoa, I'm already kind of a hot commodity at my school, because everybody knows I rap and stuff. But now like people nationally, are starting to pick up on it. So, they're able to kind of get used to that attention before. And that's also as a young person, with that you're getting so much attention. I like to think that our programming, four years in the making, helped prepare for them to handle that as well as they did.

Paul Meunier

That's awesome, JT, it has just been such a wonderful experience getting to know you, you are one of the most unique people I've ever met. And I am just so grateful that you have decided to use your skills and your talents to give back to young people. And who knows, you might someday produce the next big, you know, star in the United States, because you're giving them opportunities that they might never have had. So, I'm just really glad we got to meet. And I'm really glad you were a guest on the podcast. So, thank you for, again for being our guest.

J.T. Evans

Thanks for having me. And I appreciate just the platform in general. Not only for myself, I've looked at a couple of the other podcasts. And it's so much talented people, and really influential, powerful people that are doing a lot of different important work for their communities that they're in. So, and being able to give them a platform is really important to kind of spread the word of the importance of this type of work. So, I appreciate what you guys do as well.

Paul Meunier

Cool. Thank you, JT. Before we go, I would like you to have the last word and ask you what words of wisdom or inspiration would you like to leave with our listeners?

J.T. Evans

Think from the context of youth work the one thing I always say and the key to pretty much everything is relationships. You can't really influence people to better themselves, or get them in a situation where they will accept a new opportunity unless they trust you and think you have their best interests at heart. And in order to do that you have to develop a relationship, and specifically a trusting relationship. And everything else after that is just icing on the cake. Because you may think the most important thing is like whatever you do with the youth or the song or thing that gets all this attention, but really, it's the process within that in being able to create a genuine human connection. And that's not only for, I would say youth work, but in everything. Like I feel like life is about creating general human connection and loving and caring for people and all that stuff. Not to get too like philosophical or whatever. But I think that stuff is really important and it starts with making relationships.

Paul Meunier

If you would like to share your passion for youth work, we'd love to spotlight you as a guest. If you have feedback about the show, please let us know. Just visit training.yipa.org That's training.yipa.org and click on the podcast tab. This podcast is made possible in part due to a generous contribution from M Health Fairview. I'm your host Paul Meunier. Thanks for listening to The Passionate Youth Worker.