The iBELIEVE Newsletter - 3rd Edition

Welcome back to the first ever third edition of the iBELIEVE Newsletter. We’re back again to preview a big summer of programs, so sit back and enjoy a look ahead.

2023 Youth Leadership Workshop Preview

Last summer we were finally able to make our long awaited return to in person programming. Despite some speed bumps and rescheduling along the way, we were still able to host 138 delegates across our 3 workshops. This summer we’ll look to carry on that momentum with 4 workshops on 4 different campuses, including 2 brand new locations.

June 18 - 22 | Kenyon College | Gambier, OH

We’re kicking off the summer by heading to a brand new spot for iBELIEVE. Kenyon, although quite small, has an impressive list of notable alumni including actor Paul Newman, author John Green, and our 19th president Rutherford B. Hayes. We can’t guarantee you’ll see anyone famous there, but we also can’t not guarantee it.

June 25 - 29 | Marietta College | Marietta, OH

Over the years Marietta has become an unofficial second home for iBELIEVE. Even though we weren’t able to fit them into our 2022 schedule, we’ve hosted all our staff trainings and retreats there over the past couple of years, and we’re excited to be back again this summer for a workshop. As of right now we have 125 delegates signed up for Marietta alone, which would almost equal our total number of delegates from last year!

July 9 - 13 | Wheeling University | Wheeling, WV

We’re heading back to West Virginia after our 4th of July break. Wheeling has been a mainstay in our campus rotation since 2019 and it wouldn’t really be workshop season without getting their famous pizza from the dining hall.

July 16 -20 | University of Mount Union | Alliance, OH

We’re rounding out the summer in our second new workshop location. We had a our first visit to Mount Union back in the fall for a leadership summit and liked it so much we decided to do a full workshop there! We’re excited to continue to grow and expand with new campuses!

And in case you missed it, here’s a preview of our workshop theme shirt for this summer. It’s less than one month until our week of workshop and we can’t wait to get started!

Alumni Spotlight - Derek DeMel

Derek was a delegate, volunteer staff, and intern for iBELIEVE and after his recent graduation from Yale with his Master’s Degree he reflected on his time with iB and the skills he used throughout his college career!

“I just graduated Yale University with a Master’s Degree in Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering and finished Yale College last year in 2022 with a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering. I knew I wanted to pursue biomedical engineering generally when I was in high school but struggled to decide what area to focus on and how to even enter the field for the majority of my college life. There were several moments when I second-guessed what I was doing, and fought the imposter syndrome of being a small-town Ohioan at a school like Yale. Now several years later, I am happy to have not only published my first paper in 3D bioprinting applications for bone tissue engineering, but also to start my first job at the Wyss Institute at Harvard to further research in 3D organ bioprinting this summer.

Though I have spent the last 6 years up in Connecticut, I owe much to my roots back in Southeast Ohio and the opportunities I took advantage of. I was lucky to have a community in Athens that supported all of my science and music endeavors and pushed me to apply to a school like Yale— something I was terrified of doing. But what I truly believe set me up for success were my friends and mentors at The iBELIEVE Foundation. Going through the youth leadership workshops changed my life. The iB Level 1 summer workshop was my first time participating in something new and unfamiliar. The warm and eclectic environment that I found myself in helped me gain the confidence to approach new people and challenge my fears of failure— two skills that proved immensely valuable in college full of unique challenges. As someone in my mid-20s, I now recognize the power that these week-long immersive workshops had on shaping my mindset and perspective. I became a more-open minded and less risk-averse person through my journey with iBELIEVE and I will always be grateful for that.

Because of the iBELIEVE Foundation, I’ve become inspired to go after every incredible opportunity presented— even if it seems out of reach at first. Though I am no longer staffing the summer workshops, I hope that I may continue to mentor students from Appalachia and other regions to pass on the same feelings of optimism and confidence that iBELIEVE gave me.”

Congrats to the Bensons!

Here at iBELIEVE, we love love! Especially if we get to have a small part in it. Matt and Marlee are both former staff members and interns, who recently tied the knot. The pair first met at summer staff training in 2017 and staffed together later that summer at our Youngstown State workshop! Congrats to them both from everyone at iB! 💚

Thank you, Marietta Community Foundation!

iBELIEVE was recently awarded a grant of $3,500 from the Marietta Community Foundation to support the attendance of 10 Washington County, OH high school students at our 2023 Youth Leadership Workshops! 

“The iBELIEVE Foundation's mission is made possible because we have a community of organizations, businesses, and individuals who believe in the youth of the Appalachian region! The Marietta Community Foundation's support will impact these students far beyond high school. We are so thankful for the generosity of the Marietta Community Foundation and their continued support of our mission and our participants!” - Stefani Murray, Executive Director

That wraps up the past few months around iB and our third ever newsletter. If you’re interested in contributing to our next edition in August, please visit our website. In the meantime, watch our social media pages to stay up to date with everything else we’re doing.