Beyond the yellow ribbon
Minnesota Military Teen Panel 
Quarterly News  

 

 

 

Fall 2011 

 

In This Issue
Greetings!
Teen Summit
Camping at Laketrails
Youth Symposium
Teen Panel Goals
OMK Grants
Tutor.com
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Want to join the Minnesota Military Teen Panel?

Contact the Youth

Programs Coordinator,

Laura Groeneweg 

612-327- 4730

or e-mail

 

Or, find information about the Teen Panel here.

Teen Spotlight
Teen Eden Powers
Eden Powers
Military Teen Panel

Military Affiliation

Her father is a First Sergeant in the Army National Guard, currently deployed, and her mom is a Family Readiness Group leader for 1-194 Combined Arms Battalion.

 

Why She Joined

This is her second year on the Teen Panel. Eden joined because she felt she had a good view on how being in a military family has affected her and her family - putting her in a good position to spread the word about the difficulties military families face.

 

She has three other siblings, which can also put a lot of stress on a single parent (because of deployment).

 

Other Interests

Track & field, softball, dance, choir and Eden loves music. She plays two instruments - the piano and an acoustic and electric guitar. Eden is also a Girl Scout leader.

 

Eden's Unique Attribute

"I love traveling. In the summer of 2013, I am going on a trip to Mexico! My dream vacation is to go to Egypt, and I want to live in Australia when I am older."

Teen Alivia Rardin
Alivia Rardin
Military Teen Panel

Military Affiliation

Her father is a First Sergeant in the Army National Guard, and he is currently serving on his second deployment. Her mom is a Family Readiness Support Assistant.

 

Why She Joined

Alivia wanted to meet other teens that were going through the same things, and she wanted to spread awareness across Minnesota.

 

Other Interests

Dance, babysitting and choir. Alivia plays the violin and is also a Girl Scout leader.

 

Alivia's Unique Attribute

"Due to the military, and moving so many times, this will be the seventh school I have attended."

Teen Kiana Kelii
Kiana Kelii
Military Teen Panel

Military Affiliation

Her father is a Major in the Army National Guard, and he is currently serving on his third deployment. Her mom is a Family Readiness Group leader for the 134th Brigade Support Battalion.

 

Why She Joined

Kiana felt she never had the support outside of her family during deployment. Her friends never understood the feelings and emotions that overcame her when she had to deal with her dad leaving. Kiana set out to find a group made up of military teens and came across the Military Teen Focus Group, the group that set up the Military Teen Panel. She wanted to raise awareness and show other military teens that there are others across the state that are in the same position.

 

Other Interests

Hocky, lacrosse, singing in her school's show-choir, JIVE, and guitar.

 

Kiana's Unique Attribute

"I was nominated as the 2011-2012 Sophomore Homecoming Queen/Representative. It was such an experience being voted for it and I was ecstatic to participate on the Homecoming Court."

Speak Out for Military Kids Retreats
Held at water parks around Minnesota

 

At Speak Out for Military Kids (SOMK) Retreats, teens come together to share their military and deployment experiences and develop a presentation to share their story. Presentations range from videos to power points, poems to skits and much more. Teens work hard at the retreat, but also get an evening off to play in the water park!

 

This year, there will be an SOMK Retreat in Brainerd, in November, and another one later in spring. Keep posted on SOMK Retreats here.

 

"I went to the Adventure Camp at the University of Minnesota, and I had a lot of fun. We got to stay in our own dorms, which were really cool - got our own keys and everything!
 
We also worked in an organic farm, which was a cool experience. A lot of farms use fertilizers to make the crops huge or to keep bugs out.
 
I also went to the SOMK Retreat in Bloomington, where I got to meet a lot of othe military teens, like me. It's nice to talk with people who understand what you're going through - about the sad things that are happening, or some of the great things that are happening as well."
 
- Megan Schmidt, Military Teen Panel member and SOMK Retreat attendee
Greetings from the Teen Panel

2011-2012 Teen PanelIt's that time of year! School is kicking back up to full gear, military families are enjoying the many fall events and deployed Soldiers are loving their 90 degree weather. Every few months the 2011-2012 Minnesota Military Teen Panel will be sending out a newsletter informing you of the events and many activities the Teen Panel is involved with - and how you can participate!

  

Our panel this year consists of five returning members and four new members. We'd love for you to meet some of our members in the "Teen Panel Spotlight." Even though the year has just begun for our new group, we've already had our first face-to-face meeting in August and volunteered to do community service.

 

In addition, we'll mention our Teen Summit, which we put on every summer, a Laketrails camp a few of our members went to, our goals for the upcoming year and the National Military Youth Symposium that was held in Louisville, Kentucky.

Enjoying the year's Teen Summit

Teen Summit 1

The 2011 Teen Summit was awesome! There were great speakers and activities. Some of the workshops were college prep and health and wellness. Also the service project we did was Feed My Starving Children, and we did a fun outing which was bowling. There were 29 teens who came and I could tell everyone had a blast and made friends. The Teen Summit was a great experience and it was a good way for everyone to meet other teens their age and that are in the same situations as them. We are very excited for next year's Teen Summit and we hope to get 50 teens to sign up!

 

- Written by Alivia Rardin, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Teen Panel goes camping

Laketrails at nightIn July, several members of the Minnesota Military Teen Panel went on a nine-day camping and canoe trip. The camping trip began with an eight-hour bus ride to Lake of the Woods Northwest Angle and Islands, followed by a boat ride to the base camp at Laketrails. They were accompanied by the State Youth Coordinator, Laura Groeneweg.

 

Most of the teens had not been on an extensive canoe trip like the one they were about to embark on. The adventure began with canoeing, packing and portaging lessons and tips on how to use a trowel. Once the destination had been chosen, the campers filled their dry packs and pushed off for their adventure. Their first destination was an old, abandoned mine area, renamed Helldivers by Laketrails' guides.

 

The first day, the group paddled about 30 miles, challenged by headwinds, rain and two-foot waves. Everyone "loved" the challenging weather. On the second day they reached the mine and spent the day exploring, pulling pranks and exploring abandoned ruins.

 

The third day was spent exploring, paddling, portaging and even more paddling. The fourth day was a tough paddle to a beautiful island. Then the campers spent the day napping, fishing and trying to catch crayfish.

 

On the fifth and final day, everyone had become an expert paddler and camper and could set up and take down a tent in minutes. When the campers neared the international border, the National Anthem belted out over the waters. That night the group had the privilege of a cleansing ritual, which took the place of a shower. It consisted of a sauna, a dip in the lake and some shampoo. Everyone enjoyed the cleansing ritual!

 

The Minnesota Military Teen Panel faced many challenges on this trip. There were rainstorms, waves, allergies and even snakes. There were many memorable events, as well. Campers experienced their first campfires and dinners, conquered challenging waves and weather and witnessed beautiful sunsets. All agreed they would do it again.

 

- Written by Claire Zenzen, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Youth Symposium

Kelii at SymposiumOn July 24, 2011, Mitchel Howe and Kiana Kelii attended the National Military Youth Symposium in Louisville, Kentucky. They spent four days there, with two teen representatives from every state, including Guam, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. 

 

Symposium participants heard from national speakers Craig Hillier, Bill Cordes and John Crudele. They talked about raising awareness of military youth, future goals, making smart decisions and coping with a loved one in the military. All of the teens were given the opportunity to go to the United Service Organization's (USO) Montgomery Gentry concert on July 26, which was nationally broadcast on live TV the next day.

 

The symposium held an annual ball for the teens to attend. Everyone got to dress up in formal apparel for the event. The boys looked very handsome in their suits, and the girls looked stunning in their dresses!

 

"It was a very emotional experience for me." Kiana said. "It was amazing being surrounded by 100 other teens that I could confide in. There were lots of tears that were shed when it was time to say goodbye to everyone."

 

-Written by Kiana Kelii, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Teen Panel goals

Teen Panel VolunteeringThe Minnesota Military Teen Panel has been active for two years. Since then we have brought back many of the old goals, but have also implemented new goals as well.

 

The goals involve participating and promoting military connected activities and talking to schools to inform them about military youth. We are also working at bettering ourselves as leaders, making a better effort at teamwork and attaining higher personal values.

 

Some goals that were brought back were to complete 50 hours of community service, keep our grade point average above 2.0 and attend all meetings and conference calls.

 

Our new goals are to do more group community service, create more public speaking opportunities at Family Readiness Group (FRG) meetings and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon events and help promote the Yellow Ribbon Community Campaign.

 

All of us on the Teen Panel are looking forward to a great year and hope to accomplish all of these goals. We, especially, want to have more teens attend our yearly Military Teen Summit in June 2012.

 

- Written by Mitchel Howe and Zach Jilinek, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Grants available for extracurriculars

OMK LogoSchool has been in session for nearly two months - even longer for some youth. At this point, some parents have noticed their children are struggling with some subjects while dealing with a deployment. Tutoring may seem necessary, yet financially out of reach. For other kids, they may have a passion outside of the classroom for sports or fine arts that can be quite costly for a family on a budget. In both of these situations, a grant from Our Military Kids can greatly benefit these children.

 

Grants of up to $500 cover the fees for six months of participation in sports, fine arts and tutoring programs.

 

To sign up for a grant, click here.

Tutor.com

Tutor.com for Military Families is the Department of Defense's online, on-demand tutoring and homework help service. It offers students a connection to a live tutor for individualized, one-on-one academic assistance in over 20 subjects including math, science, social studies and english for all grade levels, including introductory college. The program is free for all Servicemembers and their families, regardless of deployment status. Benefits include:

 

- Get live, individualized help with questions in all subjects - stick around for a longer help session whenever you need it

 

- Use the ProofPoint center for real-time proofreading of any piece of writing

 

- Prepare for standardized tests, SAT, ACT and the academic portions of the ASVAB

 

- College level and adult students going back to school have access to help with "core" math, english, science and social studies/history coursework.

 

- Access to over 2,500-plus tutors who have all passed a seven-year criminal background check as well as subject matter and communication exams. Find your favorites and reconnect with them in the future.

 

See a demonstration of how Tutor.com works and connect with an expert tutor here.

 

Users can have convenient homework sessions from their iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch using Tutor.com's "To Go" application. Learn how here.  

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jennifer Marsh, client services manager at Tutor.com, at 210-888-0798 or by e-mail.

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