De’Wallace McDowell is a 17 year old senior at Collins Academy High School and a Math Literacy Worker in Chicago, IL.

De’Wallace joined YPP during the fall 2014 session and partook in the program for three consecutive sessions. De’Wallace is a great MLW because he is paNent and likes taking on the role of a leader when it comes to working with others. He is also very dedicated to everything he does and takes pride in his work. He shared, “I work for YPP because it has had a great impact on my life and has changed me to become more outgoing. I have received a chance to meet new people and show people the person I truly am.” De’Wallace has a contagious personality. He came in everyday determined put a smile on everyone’s face and was successful every Nme! De’Wallace conveys the rare gift of bringing humor to a classroom while staying focused on his responsibilities.

De’Wallace shares some positive experiences within the program: “Being involved with YPP makes me feel like a responsible adult and also it gives me a didactic feeling that I get to teach young children some of the things I was never taught. It pleases me to get to teach young people new things in a way that I can assure that they will learn.”

“Leading is one of the things I could not do without this program it really helped me a lot to be a better leader and persevere more. I was always the one to follow whatever my peers say and what they say will go but this program is teaching me to have a mind of my own.”

“Before this program I had a hard time persevering and completing tasks all the way through. When teaching, you get a different feeling when it comes to helping children to complete a task and persevere. Perseverance is what makes me come back every day to teach kids my favorite subject.”