News & Stories

Connecting Cultures, Creating Community

A group of students and adults sit and stand around a large round table covered with a blue tablecloth, sharing pastries and talking in a bright room with large windows overlooking trees and greenery.

Photo credit: Northwest Education Services

Image description: A group of students and adults sit and stand around a large round table covered with a blue tablecloth, sharing pastries and talking in a bright room with large windows overlooking trees and greenery.

Northwest Education Services (North Ed) strives to provide every learner with access to pathways toward a meaningful life. As one of our grant partners, North Ed is taking action to ensure migrant students and their families have their educational needs and human services met.

In our Northern Michigan region, 85% of migrant students are English language learners, meaning students in our regional ISDs may struggle to connect, fit in, and understand those around them at a time when support and community are vital. This is where North Ed steps in.

North Ed proudly collaborates with 25 area school districts and organizations to facilitate a support network for migrant students, including its well-attended Migrant Youth Empowerment Club. Thanks to a 2024 grant awarded through our Youth Endowment, the Club continues to flourish, providing extracurricular support and camaraderie for migrant students.

First introduced on a small scale in 2020, the Migrant Youth Empowerment Club was reintroduced post-pandemic as a widespread program connecting students from all schools served by North Ed’s migrant program. Ashley Nuno and Beatriz Moreno are two longstanding North Ed employees who facilitate the Club, having conceived the idea and nurtured its growth.

“Beatriz and I wanted to have a club specifically for migrant high school students so they could connect with other students like them and not feel so isolated when they came to Michigan,” shared Ashley.

“I was part of the migrant program growing up here in Leelanau County,” added Beatriz. “It was such a fulfilling program that made lifelong memories. I wanted to be able to keep that going with the new generations.”

The Empowerment Club meets monthly, in-person and virtually, with around 40 students gathering to talk about sensitive topics in our country, attend school visits, take field trips, and do service activities, like making ornaments for nursing homes and assembling materials for PoWeR! Book Bags. Together, local migrant students are connecting with their communities while also creating their own sense of community.

“The Migrant Youth Empowerment Club has impacted my life by providing me with a sense of belonging and community,” shared club member, Nayley Estrada. “It created a safe space where you could openly share your experiences and challenges as a migrant student. Overall, the Club has been a positive influence, shaping my personal and academic growth.”

Ashley and Beatriz love working with area students and getting to know them and their families through North Ed and the Empowerment Club. They are grateful for our grant support so they can continue funding projects, activities, field trips, and more for this student population.

“Community foundations help strengthen our communities,” said Beatriz. “We are fortunate to have generous donors in our area who help out with local needs like our club.”

Writer: Alex Dailey