SOAR Academy Students Participate in Aspen Challenge

Two groups of students from San Diego SOAR Academy Youth Transition Campus, which serves incarcerated youth, created programs to help deter youth from engaging in substance use as part of their participation in the 2025 Aspen Challenge.

The Aspen Challenge provides inspiration, tools, and a platform for young people to design solutions to some of the most critical problems humanity faces. Addressing homelessness, ocean health, mitigating the impacts of social media, and substance use were a few of the problems they could choose to address.

In February, teams of people or “champions” who work in the topic areas presented students with the problems they could address. The students chose substance abuse prevention. SDCOE’s Jim Crittenden and Alexandra Swift visited with the students to provide guidance, support, and resources for their projects.  

Once the teams selected their topics, they had up to eight weeks to work on their solutions and presentations, which were formally shared in person at an event April 15.

Each student team had eight people and four reserves. The first team created Elevate the Youth, a flag football league that helps youth tempted by substance use or gang affiliation have another option. They created a logo, a T-shirt, and had a bake sale to raise money. Students Ysaria, Jhadae, Macie, and Zakayla were able to attend and present their program in person. 

The second team created Joy for Kids, a place and program for students that are tempted to use substances and have gang affiliation. They proposed a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club to provide a safe space for youth to have positive interactions and access essentials like toiletries and basic needs. They also created a logo, T-shirt, and had a cookout to raise money. Students Julian and Tyshaun presented their plan.

In lieu of collecting money, both teams collected pledges from people who said they would donate money if the project continued after the students left San Diego SOAR Academy. 

Teacher Isaiah Giddings, who helped coordinate the effort, said participating was a great opportunity for the students. 

“They got to demonstrate leadership, initiative, engaging others, and saw the impact of their actions for positive means,” he said. “Many saw a massive boost of self-confidence and all said they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and saw themselves differently as a result of the challenge. They loved the support and personalization Aspen provided.”

He said the audience was responsive to their projects as well. 

“Almost unanimously, the community was proud, inspired, and wanting to get involved in their solution to address substance use issues in our community. Many came up to tell our youth they did excellent and loved the slideshow and presentation they delivered on stage,” Giddings said. 

San Diego SOAR Academy was one of 15 high schools to participate alongside schools in the San Diego Unified School District. This is the second consecutive year San Diego SOAR Academy students participated in the challenge but their first time appearing in person. 

The challenge is put on every year by the Aspen Institute and the Bezos Family Foundation, which partner with a new city each year.