December 2020 Newsletter
Student Spotlight: Mya Hickman, New Vision Humanities High School, New York
A once timid, shy and reserved freshman, Mya from New Vision Humanities in New York, took the advice from her counselor and joined the JKL program.
Mya is now a thriving, outspoken sophomore student who remembers that day vividly. She explains, “I had such a shell and was very shy and there were so many people in the cafeteria for the JKL meeting, but I decided to get out of my comfort zone and I haven’t turned back!” Now with the JKL program being 100% virtual, Mya is still taking advantage of each session and hasn’t missed one yet.
Getting a chance to hear from WWE Super Star R-Truth and have weekly Zumba classes have been the highlight of her semester so far. Although she is still uncertain about when school will be back in-person, Mya is not complaining.
Since Covid, she has become more focused with school work and keep remaindering herself to “not be afraid to try new things.” JKL Instructor, Ms. Byers states, “Mya is a student who overcame academic obstacles and fitness challenges. Mya is a model JKL student who fits in just perfectly in our JKL program.”
Get Lit with Greenlighter Gear
Since we have launched online programming this Fall, Kamari has had 100% participation. Sessions with Officer Ryan Tillman, Vote.org, Monthly We hope you loved j.k. livin Founder Matthew McConaughey’s memoir and #1 New York Times Bestseller, Greenlights, as much as we did!
Now you can rock your own personal “Greenlighter” gear, as Matthew calls it, as “a reminder and inspiration to create greenlights in this life for yourself and others, so we can all get lit and just keep livin.” Count us in! For T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, koozies and more, visit www.shopgreenlights.com!
JKL Students Give Back During the Holiday Season
Our JKL students from Fremont High School in Los Angeles put on a community service event appreciating the essential workers in their schools.
Students safely put together goodie bags and constructed “Thank You” posters and cards for the cafeteria workers who provide food to the community. Goodie bags were delivered to the food workers from LAUSD at Fremont High School in appreciation for all of the hard work that they do for our community.
This idea was sparked during a gratitude zoom session when one of the students talked about how thankful she was to our cafeteria workers who she felt were not recognized for being out in the front lines during the COVID closures. She explained how they provided her family food every day during the lockdown. She talked about how although they have masks on they are very welcoming and always make sure they give her family enough meals, even for her parents.
Our JKL program at East Laurens High School in Dublin honored 4 of their staff members who have served our country by planning a Veterans Day reception at East Laurens High School.
It was important for the Veterans to know how deeply appreciated they are for the sacrifices they have made in their lives to keep our country free. Students decorated each of the staff member’s classroom doors at school and Jaylen, who is one of the JKL members, wrote a poem in their honor.
After decorating the doors, the students invited the four staff members to join their JKL session to share stories and include them in the gratitude circle where all 4 were thanked for their service and sacrifice.
Camila’s Tips: Candied Mixed Nuts and Cranberry Mix
Ingredients:
• 2 cups unsalted cashews*
• 2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts*
• 2 cups whole pecans*
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine nuts. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl,beat egg white with whisk until foamy. Add sugar, spices, and salt.
Pour egg white-sugar mixture over nuts. Gently fold until nuts are evenly coated. Divide nuts between prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake candied nuts at 300F 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once every 15 minutes.
5. Cool nuts completely on baking sheet. Once cooled, break nuts apart into clusters and combine with dried cranberries.
6. Store snack mix in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
Enjoy! Beijos
– Camila
Full recipe on Women of Today »
Swag of the Month: JKL Tumblers
Some like it hot (or cold) New 20 oz. double wall, vacuum sealed stainless tumblers Keeps your hot drinks hot for 5 hours and cold drinks up to 24 hours.