Celebrating Lights On Afterschool in North Carolina — with Usher!

In honor of Lights On Afterschool, I had the opportunity to celebrate by attending a two-day event hosted by Usher and Usher’s New Look Foundation in Charlotte, N.C. Usher and his foundation, Usher’s New Look, created a social impact tour where afterschool programs in selected tour cities were invited to participate in a career excursion of tour production. The afterschool program selected for the Charlotte stop was Raise a Child of the Carolinas.

The first day of the event was an IBM SkillsBuild Workshop led by Usher’s New Look Foundation Program Coordinators Marcus Bazemore and Sydney Williams. IBM has partnered with Usher’s New Look Foundation to provide their IBM SkillsBuild platform to the afterschool participants. During the workshop, the youth took a Sparks Assessment to discover their career interests and learned about the importance of branding and how to create their own brand. At the end of the workshop, Marcus and Sydney went over expectations of the career excursion for the following day.

The career excursion on day two consisted of a behind-the-scenes tour of the backstage production for Usher’s concert. Along with myself, on the tour was the youth and leadership staff from Raise a Child of the Carolinas, representatives from IBM and Truist, Marcus and Sydney. We were introduced to Kristy, the Assistant Tour Manager, and she led our backstage tour. We were able to meet staff from the following departments: security, video, wardrobe, ambiance, choreography, photography, hair, lightning, and merchandise. The staff were very nice, provided great detail on their career journey, and answered questions.

The highlight of the tour was meeting Usher and having the opportunity to hear from him on his career journey! He welcomed all questions from the youth and the youth did not shy away from asking their burning questions. Usher spoke on the importance of afterschool programs and why it’s important for the youth to explore their interest through their programs. Usher’s New Look Foundation Interim CEO Shawn Wilson gave me the floor to share a few words to Usher, his team, and tour participants. I took the moment to thank Usher and his team for all their hard work and contribution to the afterschool field, leading to students’ success. I also took the moment to share more about Lights On Afterschool and acknowledge Usher as our 2024 Honorary Chair for Lights On Afterschool.

Towards the end of the tour, I was invited to attend Usher’s concert that evening! It was a great opportunity to see how all of what I learned and seen earlier during the backstage tour came to life, in real time, at the concert. Usher put on a great show and I’m grateful that I had the chance to attend!

Overall, the two-day event was truly a rewarding experience and a privilege to be apart of. Usher and his team made myself and the youth feel comfortable, seen, and valued. It was heartwarming seeing the sparks in the youth as they were realizing that they too can have a career in music. Thank you, Usher and Usher’s New Look Foundation, for hosting the social impact tour for afterschool programs. This was a life-changing moment that will always be cherished. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Usher, Usher’s New Look Foundation, and youth nationwide.