(VOICES Photo/Josh Garcia)

I picked up Hector Mendoza and Lilliana Lopez and we got to Oracle as fast as we could. Hector was running late for his interview, so he got a crash course on photography from Lilliana in the car. We arrived as the sun began to set, and one of the owners of Jax Kitchen met us at the door. His name was Brian Metzger, and he was ready for his interview.

Hector was more excited than nervous. We had spent weeks preparing for this. We practiced listening skills, follow-up questions, getting the answer you want instead of a “yes” or “no” response from your subject. That was how we talked – interviewer and subject. We prepared for the worst, and in the end, Hector felt ready for not just one interview, but two!

Brian led us into the kitchen and introduced us to subject number one, head chef Casey McQueen. Casey answered questions on everything from wine storage to growing up in a household that loved cooking. After interview one wrapped up, Casey prepared a scallops dish for us. Lilliana and Hector devoured it as I stood off to the side, nauseated by the tiny allergens in the scallops, watching them eat.

Brian, subject number two, was up next. Hector, as expected, performed professionally, and as he was cruising through the interview, getting some details about the many elements of fine dining, I realized something. This was not a youth turning into a professional; this was a professional. He was preparing an article for a news service. He was getting paid for his work. Everyone at VOICES did this.

Four days a week, they turned out work. They set up interviews. They wrote and told stories. All I did, all we did, as mentors, was coach them towards excellence. When they give us their final drafts, they are often powerful, heartwarming, or even heartbreaking news pieces.

After I dropped Hector and Lilliana off at VOICES, they told everyone how the interview and photo shoots went. I got back into my car and started it up. Before driving away, I thought of all the journalists out there. Not just the adults, but the ones in high school who were still learning. Didn’t they all have something in common? A drive to be great or to tell a good story? VOICES made me reconsider what a professional was. I knew Hector would write a great article, so I shifted into gear and drove home. It was dark. Tomorrow, we would talk about transcription.

As soon as Hector Mendoza has his piece on fine dining published, we’ll be sure to let you know. Stay tuned! — Joshua Garcia, VOICES’ Writing Mentor

What led you to VOICES? Why are you here?

I came to VOICES because … I’ve seen how writing can transform lives.  When I arrived in Tucson, I was looking for a community literacy organization to support but I wasn’t sure how available I would be.  After visiting, it became clear that VOICES would put to good use any time I could share – and that the staff truly understood how to support young writers.

I’m here because I believe that we all have a psychic need to tell our stories, to have a “voice.”  It seems to me that it’s the youth who, developmentally, are most in need—and most open—to exploring what makes them unique.  Youth are particularly eager to know who they are, where they come from, how they’ve changed, what they love, what they believe, who they want to be, and where they want to go in their futures.  VOICES encourages youth to write about themselves,  and also to write about their communities.  In this sense as well, youth also seem more open to doing rigorous critical inquiry projects.  They get excited about investigating all of those normalized things that maybe shouldn’t be so normal in society.

Recently we saw you eating at Beyond Bread … what were you doing there, and what did you order?

My wife and I were on a date.  Daycare is a beautiful thing.  We hadn’t gone out to lunch, just the two of us, in a very long time.  I think we ordered their special, the salmon salad, and of course, had three cups of coffee.

Rumor has that you are in an MFA program. Which one?

I’m in Antioch’s program—out of Los Angeles.  I chose Antioch for two reasons.  It’s a low-residency model, so I can write from wherever we happen to be.  And it’s also the only MFA program in the country that’s devoted to social justice.  The writers are mature, have a broad vision about what writing can do, and they aren’t constrained by the common delusion that writing should be purely aesthetic.

What’s been your favorite VOICES moment so far?

Day one.  We all sat in a circle and everyone shared a bit about how they do or don’t identify themselves, culturally, ethnically, and why.  Everyone I think shared things about themselves that they hadn’t ever had the chance to articulate before.

If you could collapse your “philosophy of life” into three sentences, what would they be?

Three sentences?  I couldn’t collapse it into three books!  That’s maybe why I’m in an MFA program.  My approach to my “philosophy of life” is probably simple enough. I listen as hard I can.  I try to let in all the beauty and all the horror that I can—so that I’ll never be in denial about our role in enabling both.

You impress us. What impresses you?

Well, I took a drive up the Santa Catalinas a few weeks ago.  That was impressive.  But in terms of people, well, when young people step up and tell their stories.   I think they renew in us our sense that we all can play a role in making our communities and world a better place.

If you could interview one other person at VOICES, who would it be and why?

Any of the photographer volunteers.  I’d love to know what they’ve learned from the youth they work with about what pictures need to be taken—and about their vision in general.

(VOICES Photo/Krista Niles)

My version of our elevator speech is this: “VOICES is a youth development agency that mentors in the documentary arts.” And then I proceed to define documentary arts as, “you know, photography, writing, videography, research and interviewing skills, etc. . . .” Then, if my listener still is paying attention, I add, “we also provide publishing platforms to share these stories with the world” and I recite our publishing partners: KUAZ, KXCI, Tucson Weekly, Arizona Daily Star, and the Downtown Tucsonan, among others.

I have my elevator speech memorized and I’m largely content with it. In the most simple terms, it explains who we are and what we do. 

But . . . does it? Thirty seconds is not much time to introduce nuance about the intricacies of anything, and people only have the capacity to hear so much at once. The term “youth development” keeps nagging at me because it’s not only the youth who are developing at VOICES, it’s all of us: adult staff, volunteer mentors, board members, AmeriCorps members, and hopefully the general public, too, who hear the stories we publish and grow in respect for the contributions young people can make to our community.

That’s why I prefer the term “people development” to “youth development,” though I know I don’t have much chance of redefining this terminology for the world. 

Considering how much I learn daily from my colleagues—who include the youth—and also from opportunities I’ve been given to provide leadership, it is disingenuous (and also slightly in conflict with our agency’s core value of equity) to define what we do as only youth development.

Take me, for example. I strive to be a more effective, compassionate and self-aware leader, among other things, and I actively seek new sources that can teach me how to do this every day, whether it comes in the form of peers or consultants or books. I am proud to say all of the adults who work here are engaged in a similar process of development. If they were not, they probably wouldn’t last long.

In most elevators I’ve ridden we all just stare silently and blankly at the numbers as they light up, a little anxious being in such close quarters with strangers, so it’s doubtful that I’m going to test my new-found definition of our work any time soon . . . and again, I am still thinking this through. But I will keep you posted, oh blogosphere. Stephanie

It is not everyday that youth are hired to express themselves creatively while being mentored by positive role models and influences. This is going to be my second year at VOICES and it has been a blast working with all of the talented and interesting youth who come to VOICES with a passion to tell a story.

(VOICES Photo/Lilliana Lopez)

( VOICES Photo collage by:  Marena Priday, Michelle Rogers, Maria Aguirre, Samuel Crosswell, Anthony Valencia, Victoria Garcia, Fabian De La Pena)

We polled the staff, youth staff, Board and volunteers of VOICES to learn what people are thankful for in this season of gratitude. Check it out, we’re a thank-filled crew:

“I’m thankful for chickens, turkeys, beets, potatoes and all of the hard work that goes into raising and nurturing such delicious creations. Thanks, farmers! And thanks, Mother Nature! But seriously, I’m very thankful for VOICES, which helps me remember, every day, what it is like to be a youth again. It’s hard!”     —  Joshua Garcia, writing staff 

“I’m thankful for my brother coming home safe and sound from Iraq.”     —   Stephanie Fleming, VOICES youth apprentice (magazine)

“I am thankful to be part of an organization that values youth and their contributions to our society. I am thankful and hopeful when I see what amazing things we are all capable of when we decide to make a difference. I am thankful for the love and support that I receive from my family and friends.”     —   Pat Tuller, board member

“I’m thankful for getting my first experience with makeup and fashion through VOICES.”     — Jacob Lopez, VOICES youth apprentice (radio)

“I’m thankful for the people and creatures who love me. I’m thankful that I quit smoking in 2009 after 18 years. I’m thankful for high-brow discussions and low-brow TV, and I am thankful for VOICES for giving me the opportunity to feel good about myself by putting all my education to good use.”     —  Maggie Werner, volunteer mentor

“I’m thankful for all the cool and interesting friends I made at VOICES and for my new-found sense of confidence. I’m also thankful that I can buy my family presents because I have been saving up my checks. Happy Thanksgiving! ”     — Jodi Franklin, VOICES youth apprentice (magazine) 

“I am thankful for the love of my wife, family, and friends.  I am also grateful to be involved in community service, to be a board member of an organization that makes a significant difference, and  to be in a position to give back to my community.”  — Kirk Strang, treasurer and board member

 “I am thankful to have the opportunity to work with and around so many young, brilliant, and empowered staff and volunteers at VOICES . . . seriously, it’s a pretty big deal . . . I’m happy.”     —   Ashley Raasch, photography staff

“I am most thankful for getting my college applications out of the way and for the numerous outlets of advice and time I was given in making my college choices, and even more thankful that our fall program is running smoothly and all of the radio youth have been published!”     — Felix Valencia, radio staff

“I’m thankful for the parts of life that exist in perfect contentment, even if only for seconds. I’m also grateful for the people I know whose presence creates a longer and deeper happiness.”      — Natalee Dawson, VOICES youth apprentice (magazine)

“I am thankful that I am a mentor at VOICES where I feel I grow and learn as much as the students I mentor do.  I am thankful to live in the southwest where the beginnings and ends of days are so beautiful.”     — Mary Goethals, volunteer mentor

“I’m thankful for the video youth who enjoy working at VOICES so much that they want to come work even on the night before Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for HDTV. I’m thankful for Gmail and Google Docs. I’m thankful for Facebook sharing. I’m thankful for YouTube. I’m thankful for my mother’s health. I’m ESPECIALLY thankful for the staff, video volunteers, Board members, youth, Arizona Daily Star photography guest speakers, and alumni of VOICES who work so hard to give youth a voice. I wish I was thankful for the UA football team going to the Rose Bowl for THE FIRST TIME EVER but sadly are not.”     — Donny Tran, AmeriCorps member

“I’m thankful for warm Arizona winters, sweatpants, frozen pizza, the Third Street bike path, and everyone who works in non-profits or education and makes the world a little bit better place to be!”     —  Angel Miller, volunteer mentor

“I am thankful for my mentors who remind me to ‘lift my head’ when I get bogged down in the muck. I am thankful for this amazing staff, our Board and volunteers, and  the tenacity of the VOICES youth apprentices who work very hard.”     — Stephanie Balzer, executive director

“I’m grateful to be connected to so many people who inspire me to be better, more creative, more giving, and more reflective.  I’m grateful to live in a place where I can play tennis all year round and I’m grateful to be traveling home to spend the holidays with my family.”     —  Amanda Kraus, board president

“I’m thankful to be surrounded by love. I’m thankful for the lifelong friendships I’ve made at VOICES because they make it easier to care and be able to say so.”     — Donnamarie Miranda, VOICES alum and board member

“Thankful for pleasure, thankful for pain, the whole yarn, the total thing.  (God, you’re easy to love.  And so hard to see.) And I’m thankful my sprained ankle is healing and I can love and dance and create again.”     — Devin Horn, AmeriCorps member

“I am thankful for my access to healthy food! I am grateful that I have friends with lots of specialties and interests and who live in neat places where I can visit them. I am thankful that VOICES has such passionate, always-pushing-the-limits people on staff, from the youth to the adults. I am thankful for Lisa, our new social worker! I am thankful for all of the VOICES youth, many of whom spend long hours on the bus to get to our office. I am thankful for the stories they write and that someone at the office, no matter what kind of day it is, always makes me laugh.”     —  Katie Gindlesparger, writing director

“I am thankful for the many blessings present in my life that include my ever supportive and loving group of family and friends and the ability to help others to help themselves.”     — Lisa Bartkowski, ASU Master’s of Social Work intern 

“I’m thankful for all of the great friends I have. They give me another reason to wake up in the morning.”     —  Charlie Franco, VOICES youth apprentice (radio)

“Since this is my first Thanksgiving on the west coast, I’m thankful for clear skies and warm weather. And the leftovers I’m sure to collect on Friday.”     — Ben Truman, AmeriCorps member