Empowered to Lead: Westside Summer Leadership Institute Celebrates the Class of 2025

Olivia J. Price
Jun 29
2 min read

ATLANTA, GA — June 26, 2025

This past Thursday, the auditorium at 601 Thomas Cole was alive with hope, pride, and celebration as the Westside Summer Leadership Institute honored the Class of 2025. In a powerful graduation ceremony filled with emotion and purpose, families, mentors, city officials, and community leaders came together to recognize the achievements of local youth who spent their summer rising into leadership.

Over the course of eight transformational weeks, students between the ages of 14 and 18 participated in a dynamic program built around leadership development, career readiness, and community service. Many of these young people come from neighborhoods often overlooked—yet on this stage, they stood tall as symbols of resilience, ambition, and possibility.

Students collaborated with organizations like SPLC Georgia, Create Your Dreams, Helping Empower Youth (HEY!), and That’s My Child to dive into personal development, financial literacy, public speaking, and real-world job experience. The result? A summer of transformation, hope, and momentum for a brighter tomorrow.

Designed to address summer disengagement—like youth violence, truancy, and joblessness—the Westside Summer Leadership Institute didn’t just give these teens a safe place to spend their summer. It gave them a launchpad. With paid training opportunities, hands-on mentorship, and real-life exposure to civic engagement, the program equipped students not just with skills, but with vision.

For many participants, this wasn’t just a summer program—it was a life shift. They walked in unsure, unseen, or uncertain. They walked out empowered, informed, and inspired.

Charles Lee, Founder of That’s My Child, one of the program’s key partners, echoed this sentiment:

“When you give kids structure, opportunity, and love, they rise to the occasion. This program proves that when we believe in our youth and pour into them, they exceed every expectation. I’m proud of every one of them.”

The ceremony served as both a celebration and a call to action—a reminder that when we invest in our youth, we invest in the future of our communities. The pride on the faces of graduates and families said it all: this was a beginning, not an ending.

As these students prepare to return to school, apply for jobs, and navigate the challenges of young adulthood, they now do so with new tools in hand—and a new belief in themselves. The Westside Summer Leadership Institute didn’t just train future leaders. It activated them.

“This graduation is more than a ceremony—it’s a declaration that our youth are capable, brilliant, and worthy of investment,” said the Program Director. “They are leaving with tools, confidence, and a vision for their future.”