Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyana Peters.
Hi Lyana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am the Program Manager for Thrive Clermont. Thrive Clermont is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit youth development organization whose mission is to empower teens to succeed.
I became a part of Thrive in January of this year; a family member told me about this fantastic organization and said that they were looking for a Program Manager. After I researched Thrive and its founder Ms. Sheri Lewin, I knew that this was an organization I wanted to join.
Thrive’s mission is to empower teens and provide them with skills and opportunities that they are not receiving in the classroom. Knowing that there was an organization that focuses on offering teen programming is exciting. I moved to Clermont, Florida, in 2002 at the age of 16, and there were no organizations or programs for teens outside of school sports or clubs, which was a drastic difference coming from Massachusetts, where I was involved in the Upward Bound College readiness program. As a former teen who grew up here in Clermont to now being the parent of a teen growing up in Clermont, it’s great to see that there are organizations and programs for the youth to join and get involved.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has defiantly had its rough spots. The world is grappling with a pandemic, which makes coming together to hold programs difficult. Like many other organizations, Thrive has had to pivot from an in-person model to a hybrid model to deliver the opportunities and programs teens want and need.
Thrive hosts the Summer PopUps in June each year, allowing teens to participate in skill-building workshops on various topics. This year we had both in-person and viral PopUps. Some of the workshops included Cake Decorating, Fishing, Arts & Crafts, and Spice Blending with a former Disney Chef. Our online PopUps covered Guided Meditation, Event Planning, and American Sign language, to name a few.
Because of covid restrictions and protocols, we had to develop creative solutions regarding all the students’ and volunteers’ safety in making the Summer PopUps a success. We had to contend with venues not booking events until the last minute because of changing CDC guidelines. We also had to safely reduce attendees’ capacity to hold the event in person, and even our online popups had technical issues such as lagging and freezing due to Florida’s summer thunderstorms.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Thrive Clermont?
Thrive was founded by Ms. Sheri Lewin in 2015; at the time, she was raising her three teenagers here in Clermont and saw a real void in the kinds of opportunities available to teens in South Lake County. So, she was inspired to start to Thrive in November 2015 to empower teens and connect them to their community. In March of 2016, Thrive received its official 501(c)(3) recognition.
What sets Thrive apart from other teen and youth organizations is that the teens are the driving force behind everything Thrive does. You can’t have a teen or youth organization without teen input. The way we do this is by having a Teen Advisory Council. The Teen Advisory Council or “TAC” consists of teens ages 13-18 from various backgrounds and schools. We have homeschooled TAC members; some are in public school, and others attend private school. Some of our TAC members grew up in other countries; another traveled the US with their family and lived in an RV. So, our students come from different walks of life and have different points of view, but they all have one thing in common: to learn and experience more.
Thrive works hand in hand with dedicated adult volunteers and community members to offer the teens experiences and skills they would not gain at school. Our TAC influences these experiences by telling us what they want to learn, very much like our own in-house focus group.
For example, our upcoming fall program is the Adulting Workshop Series, which will be held on four Monday evenings—starting on October 18th and running each Monday until November 8th. These workshops will cover Personal Finance, going over budgeting and credit scores. Find your Fit; how your personality and interests play a role in planning your future. Explore the trades, where Lake Technical College will come out and present the programs and opportunities in the trades. Lastly, we will have an Entrepreneur Panel where students can meet with local business owners and learn about the challenges and success of their business owner’s paths.
Thrive, Clermont,
Adulting Workshops Series
Monday, October 18th – Personal Finance
Monday, October 25th – Find Your Fit
Monday, November 1st – Explore the Trades
Monday, November 8th – Entrepreneur Panel
Location: Lake Sumter State College/ UCF south lake campus at 1250 N. Handcock Rd in Clermont, FL, 34711.
Time: 6:00pm- 8:00pm
Price: 10.00 dollars per student
Dinner is included.
Parents and students can register at www.thriveclermont.org.
How do you define success?
I believe that success is a metric that humans sometimes get lost trying to achieve. There is society’s version of success and then there is the individual’s version of success. I think that the best way to define success is by asking yourself, are you proud of the goals you have accomplished so far? Do you have new goals that you want to accomplish in the future? I believe as long as you continue you accomplish goals and set new goals, you are successful.
Contact Info:
- Email: programs@thriveclermont.org
- Website: www.thriveclermont.org
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thriveclermont/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thriveclermont/?ref=page_internal
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqPStP2yI53TnCAC26O–WA
