Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicoshia Wynn.
Hi Nicoshia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey started a long time ago in my teenage years. I’ve always had a love and passion for youth, arts, and education. I grew up in Milwaukee and attended arts schools, a thriving boys and girls club (Sherman Park), played basketball, and loved music. Over the years, I have developed a love in giving back in service. This comes from my mother and my entire family. We’ve always found a way to serve others through church and community. I’ve personally have mentored youth, developed youth mentoring programs, supervised youth summer and after school programs, volunteered for programs involving underserved youth, and coached girls’ basketball camps and high school basketball programs. I am a first-generation college graduate. I obtained my Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth as well as my Masters in Management degree from The College of St. Scholastica.
I have spent the last 20+years working in higher education, K-12 education and corporate in various capacities such as admission counselor, multicultural coordinator, consulting, Sr. human resources, leadership and organizational development, and diversity, youth ministry, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and have led the development of professionals to reach for their next level.
However, In recent years, I have seen a tremendous need in underserved communities when it comes to education. As a result, I started a nonprofit called Relentless Academy in 2019. Relentless Academy is a non-profit for youth, arts, and education whose mission is to prepare the next generation of leaders for S.M.A.R.T. (Science, Math, Art, Reading, Technology) proficiency to close the academic achievement and wealth gap among families in underserved communities.
My hope is that we create positive academic, social and emotional experiences that would ignite a passion in young people to become S.M.A.R.T. and fiscally responsible leaders that the world would need for generations to come!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey hasn’t been a smooth road along the way. There were definitely life lessons that arose and challenged who I was striving to be at times. There were some family challenges that my husband and I faced with our younger child when he was born. He was born quite a bit early. He weighed 1lb and 14oz. You could hold him in the palm of your hand. He was in the NICU for 4 months. I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. It was stressful, traumatic, and downright heartbreaking at times. However, God saw fit for him to be with us today and we are grateful and blessed!
I believe that every obstacle is an opportunity for success and this is what has carried me to this point.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I founded Relentless Academy in December of 2019. It is a Twin Cities-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on youth, arts, and education. My family struggled to find affordable and accessible academic summer camps for my three children to help maintain what their kids have learned and to prepare them for the next school year. I talked to many other parents and found that this was true for them as well. In addition to this while researching, I learned that in Minnesota:
Students of color lag behind that of their counterparts in academics; and for some ethnic groups, Minnesota is last in the country for educational success.
• Most summer programs offered by public schools are not academic-focused but rather social camp focused. They do not offer academic programming that will help students maintain what they have learned during the school year or excel beyond their learning.
• The lack of financial literacy knowledge among underserved communities along with the lack of financial literacy standards offered in K-12 education is a major roadblock in communities of color not only in Minnesota but also across the U.S.
• The technology, actuarial, and engineering field is experiencing a shortage of qualified candidates or experiencing a shortage in students interested in those fields. These fields require skills of abstract and logical thinking, and attention to detail and especially in the technology fields such as coding or robotics. Unfortunately, coding or robotics is not affordable or as accessible to students of color. Most coding courses are astronomically priced, leaving students of color lagging behind their counterparts. These types of trends contribute to the increased wealth gap in communities of color.
• Poverty continues to be a challenge in underserved communities in Hennepin County.
With Minnesota, continuing to struggle with graduation rates for students of color and I had my own desire to see accessible and affordable summer academic programming for all children, I decided to do something about it. I created a tuition-free S.M.A.R.T. (Science, Math, Art, Reading, Technology) summer academic program infused with music and financial literacy for youth in grades K-12 to address the academic achievement and wealth gap among families in underserved communities in the Twin Cities.
We successfully launched last year and provided over 270+ hours of academic and enrichment instruction to youth in our program. As a result, 96% of our students maintained what they learned in the previous school year and 97% of students had access and participated in coding and robotics instruction for the very first time. We accomplished alot in one year with several awards including one of our students being chosen for the University of Minnesota’s Girls in Leadership Series for her work in the community and with Relentless Academy.
Our goal is to expand our programming year-round to reach more youth and families in our communities. Our vision really is to create positive academic, social and emotional experiences that would ignite a passion in young people to become S.M.A.R.T. and fiscally responsible leaders that the world would need for generations to come!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love partnering with individuals or organizations that align with our mission. We are looking for individuals or organizations to partner, sponsor, and volunteer with our organization to help us fulfill our mission.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.relentlessacademy.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/relentlessacademymn
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/relentlessacademymn
Image Credits
Relentless Academy
