Modeled after a design studio, small teams of students will work with a portfolio of business owners within certain industry sectors to identify immediate needs and develop solutions. This approach should allow students to perform substantive work without overly burdening business owners who may be in crisis.

Students in the two-week program will get instruction and also wrap-around services, such as college application workshops, and writing workshops, mentored by U-M students, professional engineers, and U-M alumni.

Now as a mentor in the optiMize program himself, Shafiul Alam appreciates the effort and personal investment mentors had with students during his fellowship.

Going forward, the leadership team hopes to introduce an online summer program. They plan to debut their program July 6. Their goal will be to help students retain and strengthen math and reading skills to foster a strong start to the upcoming school year. 

Keirra Scott believes that becoming politically involved leads to the policy changes that build pathways to dismantle cycles of poverty and promote generational wealth within the city. “That’s what I’m fighting for.”

Jonae Maxey is working to change the “narrative of what Detroiters see when it comes to a landlord and real estate in general.” She also wants to set an example for other young Detroiters to stand up for the community and bring everyone together. 

U-M students have been working on Neighborhood United’s social media presence. The team also has taken the past few months to formalize Neighborhood United’s organization, designing a membership handbook, approaching donors, and collecting feedback to return successfully in the fall.

Going forward, optiMize has encouraged Bloom Bodies to use its $9,000 fellowship funds to act on community needs. The two focuses this summer are the pandemic and hurt within the community over racial injustice. 

Jeni Olney, mentor and associate director for Social Innovation at optiMize, said: “For our Detroit-Track teams, there is a deep-rooted and often relentless commitment they have to themselves and their communities to share knowledge and resources and create impact together.”