Cookies and New Faces Abound in Youth Programs

QuadFest 2024- YP Cookie Decorating Table-

Each October, QuadFest kicks off JMU’s Homecoming weekend with food, games, giveaways, performances, and more. The School of Professional & Continuing Education’s Youth Programs participates each year with a cookie decorating table. It’s always a huge hit, and the cookies go fast!

During QuadFest 2024, the table was filled with sprinkles, colorful frosting and decorating utensils, as well as bone and paw shaped cookies. The activity offered a chance for participants of all ages to tap into their inner cookie decorating artist. From kids to grandparents, each one carefully decorated their cookie with yellow, purple, and white icing and an array of sprinkles. Some chose to let their imaginations run wild, creating colorful Duke Dog bones and paws that were loaded down with more icing than cookie, while others opted for a more classic design.

As the tradition grows, it’s clear that this event is more than just an opportunity to decorate cookies— it’s an opportunity for participants to connect with their families, meet others, and engage in a creative outlet. It’s a chance to create lasting bonds and celebrate the community that makes JMU so special. And who knows? Maybe next year, even more families and generations will come together to join in the sweet fun.

Sydney-

I am so excited to be the Youth Programs Program Coordinator at SPCE! I have worked with youth since early high school and have known since then that I wanted to do youth work for my career. After getting my bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies with a minor in Elementary Education at JMU, I worked for 2 non-profits whose main focuses were youth programming. I am dedicated to making youth feel affirmed and comfortable to be themselves. I am also very passionate and knowledgeable about the LGBTQ+ community! I am so grateful to have been in different leadership roles within multiple LGBTQ+ organizations throughout the years. In my free time, you will find me eating sweet treats, petting animals, taking a cozy nap, or admiring stained glass art pieces!

Musu-

My educational background is in Healthcare Management, with a focus on Quality

 Assurance & Patient Safety.

My professional experience has been a social experiment studying “How adaptable is Musu?” I started off in the IT department of GBMC, working on the introduction, training, and launch of the Epic Medical Records system for the OR and Anesthesia units. As the years went on, I learned how to optimize data usage to improve operating times, patient service requests, as well as forecasting for unit needs. I enjoyed this role so much I moved to Sierra Leone and started working in the area of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights! As my career progressed, I moved out of the hospitals and into the communities working with youth leaders. In this role I learned the true importance of factoring in cultural differences and stakeholder priorities when trying to make systematic changes.

I’m happy to report, I was able to adapt to achieve the best results for my program. I loved this role so much, I moved back to the US! In my new role here at SPCE I look forward to working with two seemingly different demographics and learning how I will adapt again to achieve the best results for both the Lifelong Learning Institute and Youth Programs.

If you’re lucky, learning is a Lifelong process. I consider myself pretty lucky!