CEOs of 2mro

CEOs of 2mro is our entrepreneur class for our FUL Intern students. CEOs of 2mro will provide opportunities for scholars to gain knowledge and insight to not only starting a business but running a business. Through interactive activities, students will brainstorm their ideas which will prepare them to actually launch a business.

CEOs of 2mro is led by Kaija Miller-Kyles, creator and owner of Kai Mone’t Consulting.  Ms. Miller-Kyles is a graduate of the University Of Wisconsin Whitewater and served six years in the United States Army National Guard and has been a business owner going on six years.

“Hearing the students actively talking about starting their business and being excited as we add on additional steps. They fully understand how setting goals and planning can lead them to much success,” stated Kaija Miller-Kyles, CEOs of 2mro Program Leader.

Over the course of the 12-week program, students will have: set intentional goals, determined their business market, learned about their ideal customer, created a lean business plan (including marketing strategies), and know how to file their business in the state of Wisconsin,  and potential startup costs.

For students and their families, CEOs of 2mro has made room for conversations such as salaries, career paths, future goals, and different aspects of entrepreneurial life between scholars and their parents. 

Lisa, the mother of FUL Intern Jay shared, “Jay would come home asking me, " Mom, what’s your annual salary? We have had conversations about who he wants to become, job salaries, different career paths, and more about his life beyond college.” 

CEOs of 2mro is helping scholars to think of different possibilities and choices for life beyond college. Jay is an avid video game lover. Before CEOs of 2mro, Jay wanted to be a professional video game player. After learning more about the earning potential, and other factors, Jay now wants to be a CEO of a video game design company. 

“I hope to continue seeing students grow and ask questions about how they can expand their business idea to make it a reality in the coming years. Some have ideas that, if pursued by those around them, could be implemented within the next 1-2 years.”

- Kaija Miller-Kyles, CEOs of 2mro Program Leader

“I believe this program aligns with the mission of Future Urban Leaders to provide students with unique learning experiences and exposure to opportunities that typically are not available to them.  I believe it is important for students to see someone like them, not too much older than them, and do something that is also attainable to them,” stated Ms. Miller-Kyles.

2022 Summertime Programming at FUL

Creating bonds to empower scholars

School may not be in session during the summer, but for Future Urban Leaders summer is a time for us to: focus on providing our scholars with new experiences, build connections with fellow scholars, provide opportunities for them to learn more about themselves, and include fun in all of our activities. Summer programming is essential for FUL, as it provides our scholars and our staff the open opportunity to deepen the bonds built through after-school programming. Here is an overview of FUL’s 2022 Summer Programming!

June 14 - Scholar Showcase Event

Our Scholar Showcase Event is a culmination of FUL’s 2021-22 After-School Programming. Scholars have the opportunity to share what they have been busy learning about/working on throughout the school year’s programming. A few examples of what was shared by scholars;  

• Entrepreneurs pitched their business enterprises and sold their products to guests

• Artists exhibited their individual work, while also debuting the group mural they collaborated on  

• Engineers showcased their knowledge of machination concepts through the use of Legos

• Third graders led the audience in a few mindfulness strategies to clear our minds of outside stresses

• Middle schoolers demonstrated for the audience how to center your body, soul, and mind through the practice of yoga

June 17 - FUL Graduation Celebration 

FUL’s Graduation Celebration was for our 8th graders transitioning to high school as well as our two high school seniors transitioning to college. At the event, our high school scholars were able to write letters of advice and encouragement to the incoming ninth graders.

June 24-26- Kettle Moraine Camping Trip 

Our high school scholars had the opportunity to collectively set up tents, build the campfire and prepare meals. During the weekend, scholars engaged in group discussions about high school, participated in night hikes, and experienced the peace and tranquility the outdoors provide a person's soul.

July 11-15 - HBCU Trip 

We were able to take 12 FUL high school scholars on a week-long trip along the East Coast. We toured five historically black colleges and universities and visited a few historical African American sites across states. 

Through all of the driving, our group experienced several "firsts", including experiencing Washington D.C.'s many wonders, and immersing ourselves in the Atlantic Ocean. Though we were drained upon our return to Milwaukee, the excitement from the experience with the scholars keeps us looking towards their endless possibilities.

July 20th - Devils Lake Hiking Trip 

We were able to take a group of scholars ranging from incoming fourth to seventh graders on a camping trip to Devil’s Lake. The trip was a blast! We spent our weekend hiking, swimming, grilling out, and bonding as a group.

August 6 - Registration Cookout

Our registration cookout is a tradition for FUL to get our staff, scholars, and families together before the start of the new school year. This year we were able to introduce FUL’s new Executive Director, Darnell Hamilton, as well as reconnect with some scholars and their families. 

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Summer is a special time for Future Urban Leaders. We are very happy we were able to bring back a number of our summer programs this year, as they were canceled due to the COVID pandemic the past few summers. We are more excited than ever to begin a new school year with our scholars and to continue to watch them as they embrace and realize their full potential.

Power in Energy: Thrive 2 Survive Yoga

We all possess an energy within us. If we can teach our scholars the power to harness positive, motivated, inspiring energy as children, they are more likely to become positive, motivated, and inspiring adults. This is where the power in energy can change lives. 

In partnership with Jamilla Carney and her organization Agape Yogastry. We provide specialized yoga classes that go far beyond stretching and breathing for our Leadership Intern scholars. The specialized yoga curriculum helps youth explore and learn self-care techniques that lead to improved mental, emotional, as well as physical health. Through these yoga sessions, scholars learn more about themselves, and how to better interact with their peers and the world around them. 

“Our yoga practice is centered on the four values of FUL; inclusivity, grit, empowerment, and dignity. I use yoga and mindfulness as a way to further help scholars learn, embrace, practice, and embody these values in a physical sense through moving their bodies and mindfulness, “stated Jamilia

These weekly classes often begin by providing scholars with a prompt. As an example, ’respect’. The class discusses how we respect ourselves and our bodies, and how when we are able to respect our own bodies we can respect those around us and be better members of society. 

The class then moves into a series of yoga poses and breathing techniques that focus on respecting ourselves, we keep an open dialogue about how it feels to be respected and why this feeling is an interracial part to them succeeding and reaching their goals. 

Each class ends with a grounding activity and or breathing exercises that forces scholars to slow down and just be for 5-8 minutes. Taking a pause and calming our minds can have huge impacts on our cognitive abilities.

“I have seen scholars tap into their energy in my class. When we recognize, feel, and harness the energy within us. We can then tap into our power to control our energy and lead with it,” said, Jamilia