From Passion to Purpose: What Baltimore’s Youth Taught Me About Listening, Leading, and Building Forward
There’s something powerful that happens when you stop trying to teach and start trying to listen.
Earlier this month, I joined Dent Education’s Bet on Baltimore program for a Food for Thought session with a cohort of high school and college students who are already dreaming, building, and leading in ways many adults never get the chance to. I walked in ready to share my journey from Detroit to Baltimore, from student to strategist. But I left reminded of something more profound:
Young people (specifically those in transformative cities like Baltimore and Detroit) aren’t waiting to become changemakers - They Are The Change
What they need—what we all need—is space, support, and someone to believe in the blueprints they’re drawing now.
Lead With Listening
What stood out most wasn’t the brilliance of their ideas (though those were there in abundance). It was the clarity with which they articulated what’s missing:
“We just want to be respected—by adults, by teachers, by our city.”
“If more people poured into their community, things would feel different.”
“Why do people assume we don’t have something to say?”
These weren’t complaints. They were calls to action.
They reminded me that the first step in showing up for youth is to truly listen—without agenda, without interruption, and without assuming we know better.
Mutual Learning Builds Mutual Power
There’s a term we used during our session: teach up, learn down. It’s the idea that wisdom doesn’t only flow top-down—it flows in every direction when we create trust:
Young people can teach adults about creativity, urgency, empathy, and innovation.
Adults can help provide structure, access, and context for impact.
Together, we build not only stronger projects—but stronger relationships, stronger communities.
This is what mutual power looks like. It’s not about giving up the mic—it’s about passing it, sharing it, and sometimes handing it off completely.
Every Idea Deserves a Blueprint
At the end of our session, students were invited to create their own personal blueprints for the summer. Not just project plans, but reflections on:
What drives them
What they want to build
And who they’re building it for
What I saw was proof that Baltimore’s future isn’t something to predict—it’s something these students are already shaping.
Their ideas weren’t just creative. They were rooted in community, accessibility, healing, safety, identity, and vision.
That’s leadership. That’s strategy. That’s impact.
Gratitude, Always
To the entire Dent Education team—Micky Wolf, Ayomide Sekiteri, Chanel Manley, Taylor Carter, and all the others who poured into this moment—thank you for creating a space where brilliance can stretch and take root.
To the Baltimore Community Foundation, thank you for hosting such an intentional gathering.
To the Denters—thank you for showing up with open hearts, sharp minds, and big dreams. Y’all are the reason.
Let’s Keep Building
This is the work Northstar was built to support—people-first, culture-forward, rooted in community.
Want to collab on a future session? Let’s connect.
info@nstarnetwork.com | www.nstarnetwork.com
About Northstar Network, LLC: Northstar Network is a purpose-driven consulting firm helping organizations, creators, and changemakers build authentic brands, strategies, and movements rooted in impact. Through our core divisions—Branding, Strategy, Creative, and Digital—we guide mission-led leaders in translating vision into action. At Northstar, we believe in the power of culture, community, and innovation to create lasting change. We’re more than consultants — we’re partners on the journey to finding your light and building your legacy. Learn more at www.nstarnetwork.com.
About Dent Education: Dent Education exists to empower youth to discover and develop their creative potential to shape the world around them. Through programs like Bet on Baltimore, they create inclusive, hands-on experiences that center youth voice and help young people transform their ideas into action. Learn more at www.denteducation.org
