Chris Fischer ’17 worked with at-risk youth in Boston.
Working at InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW) provided me with something new every day. I was told I was going to work with Boston’s at-risk youth. I quickly realized that was a euphemism for gangsters and felons- many of whom make up a segment of the population that are most likely to shoot someone, or get shot. I learned about the world from which these young men hail, and how different it is.
I met men who feel the need to carry guns for protection, I met men who fear every moment on the streets may be their last, and I met men who- at times- wished they could be back behind the very bars that oppressed them. Truly, these men came from a different world than the average Colgate student. It was my main concern- how can I relate to these men, what will we talk about? I doubted my ability to connect with the students, but they turned out to be wonderful human beings, contrary to what I was supposed to believe about them. Throughout the summer I worked on projects within operations, marketing, communications, and developed a strong interest in social issues such as incarceration in America.