To celebrate our recently published book, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation, we launched the podcast series Journeys in Youth Development with host Georgia Hall, Ph.D., director of NIOST and co-editor of the book.

In the fourth episode of the series, Georgia talks to Terrance Cauley, Senior Director in the Department of Youth, Family & Clinical Services at Better Family Life, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. Terrance highlights the importance of offering historically marginalized Black youth opportunities for self-definition, and discusses how he does this through his work in out-of-school time programming.
Terrance reads from his essay “Knowing Who I Am,” and shares how his grandfather—his afterschool specialist and before-care provider—and his African cultural identity played a significant role in shaping his early life, and how identity work “drives youth toward a point of cultural pride,” which is the foundation of his work with Black youth. 

“I work in OST as the result of a journey to know, reconnect and understand—a desire to retell a people's story and thereby come to know my own.”

Terrance’s essay appears in the book co-edited by NIOST, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation. Through both research and personal essays, the book shines a light on the intricate connections between research and practice, touching upon both the vulnerability and triumph of youth development work. The passionate voices of youth workers in this volume lead to the inescapable conclusion that programs and policies for youth must be informed by these same voices and the values they express.

You can find the Journeys in Youth Development podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeart Radio. Follow the podcast on your favorite platform to get notified when new episodes are released monthly.