Gala Supports Inspiring Minds
YOUNGSTOWN — When asked how much, on a scale from one to 10, Inspiring Minds influenced her decision to study nursing, Kaia Toles didn’t hesitate to come up with a number.
“A 14,” said Toles, who’s attending Berea College in Berea, Ky., for that purpose.
Toles, who also works at St. Joseph Warren Hospital, has been part of Inspiring Minds since third grade. She was among those who shared their success stories during IM’s 15th annual fundraiser gala Thursday evening at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.
The two-hour formal affair was mainly to “celebrate the accomplishments of our young people,” Deryck Toles, founder and chief executive officer, noted.
Funds raised will go toward the organization’s programs, he added.
Kaia Toles said her career goal is to begin working at Akron Children’s Hospital or the Cleveland Clinic, then land a nursing job at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
“I don’t think I’d be where I am today without Inspiring Minds,” Toles said, adding that the organization arranged and conducted several college tours for her.
IM lists as its mission engaging, inspiring and empowering young people to achieve their full potential via education and exposure to life-changing experiences, as well as to equip them with the tools to pursue their passions. The other primary impact areas are health and wellness, personal development and college and career readiness.
Among those who followed that trajectory was Celeste Harris of Warren, who joined IM in seventh grade and is studying nursing at Howard University, a historically black college and university in Washington, D.C.
“They helped me with scholarships and prepped me to move forward for college,” said Harris, who hopes to work in a labor and delivery unit and as a traveling nurse.
She would never have considered Howard University had it not been for a college tour IM planned for her, said Harris, who also cited being part of the university’s marching band as one of her crowning achievements.
“I still can’t believe I go there,” she continued.
For Brooklyn Honzu, 21, of Ravenna, IM continually nudged her to pursue her love of art and animation.
“They took me to Kent State University when I wanted to go into fashion,” she recalled. “They gave me a fashion-merchandise mentor,” along with an internship.
Even though her career went in another direction, IM placed her on a path to discover that her true passion was in becoming an animation-game designer artist, she explained.
Deryck Toles noted that IM has made possible more than 80 company tours and 90 colleges visited, along with numerous paid summer internships for graduates — all in an effort to align students with their fields of interest.
Along those lines, a group of 80 students, some as young as seventh-grade, are traveling to Sarasota, Fla., later this month to fulfill a diverse itinerary that includes two college visits and a stop at a vehicle manufacturing plant, as well as an opportunity to study marine biology, Toles said.
“Our goal is to show them there’s a big world out there,” he added. “We want them to have something to look forward to.”
In addition to the Youngstown and Warren chapters, Inspiring Minds has chapters in Pittsburgh, New York City and Raleigh/Durham, N.C., he said.