Jasmine Graham
Age 18, 2009 Lawrence North graduate, freshman at IU-Bloomington
Tutor at Indianapolis Algebra Project
As a former Indianapolis Algebra Project (IAP) student, award winner Jasmine Graham, a 2009 Lawrence North graduate and freshman at IU-Bloomington, can attest to the impact of the IAP. “The IAP staff was compassionate about what they did,” Graham said about her experience as an IAP student, “and I learned that when youth are compassionate about serving other youth, we become a small piece of the puzzle helping the world succeed.”
IAP challenged and helped her to improve her math skills, and, in turn, Graham has given back to the program for many years, working her way from a first-year tutor in 2005 to a supervisor. She is proud of the impact that IAP has. “The experiences children gain keep them up to speed or even get them ahead in life,” she said.
Graham’s pride about the impact of IAP has turned to passion for her work. “There are some youth workers that take care of their responsibilities, and do a very good job, but all they do is what they consider just a job,” she says. “Then there are others who perform this job with a passion—as if it was a way of survival for the students. In a way, it is.”
Dr. Terry Ogle, Executive Director at IAP, is impressed with her professionalism, passion and creativity. “Jasmine is a positive role model for the youth she tutors and the staff she supervises. Jasmine leads by example, demonstrating timeliness, patience, thoroughness and compassion,” said Ogle.
“She works after hours preparing lessons and materials that are unique an engaging,” Ogle recounted. When a group of four-year-olds were struggling with learning shapes, Graham created a new game designed around BINGO, which taught and reinforced understanding of shapes.
The mission of the Indianapolis Algebra Project (IAP) is to organize the African-American community and other stakeholders around the implementation of the Transition Curriculum in schools that house African-American students. The support and promotion of the IAP must rest solely in the hands of the stakeholders who push the math agenda to school officials and other decision making bodies.
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