Staff Spotlight on Ms. G!

Join us in welcoming the newest member of our Amped staff, Ashanta Gleason. Ashanta, or Ms. G as she's known to the students in Amped Studio After School, may have just joined our staff this semester, but as a Humanities Amped and McKinley Senior High School alumn, her connection to this community runs deep.

​During her time with Humanities Amped as a student, she developed a passion for civic and community engagement, public speaking, and empowering youth. You may remember her outstanding research and action project from 2019, Bringing Black Male Teachers to Education. 

Ashanta now serves as one of our Alumni Program Leaders who works in our classrooms and the after school Amped Studio, assisting current students reach their goals through the culture and teachings of the program. Ashanta accredits the Amped program as she believes it is a primary factor that inspired her to start a community service organization, Filled with Love Project, that is devoted to connecting and providing assistance to the community, and has motivated her to work with many organizations geared towards the upward development of the youth community in Baton Rouge. She thanks the program for all it has done and for giving her and all of her peers the tools needed to grow beyond high school. In addition to working as an Amped Alumni Program Leader, Ashanta now studies History at Southern University and A&M College.

What do you most enjoy about your role at Humanities Amped, and what are you looking forward to?
I am constantly looking forward to seeing myself in youth that I come across and giving them the exact encouragement I craved when I was in their shoes. The ability to be able to be there and lift them up during their personal, professional, and academic endeavors is what brings me the most joy in my role at Humanities Amped.

Why does the mission of Humanities Amped matter to you? 
The mission of Humanities Amped is so valuable to me as it highlights the main things that I recognize that youth are hindered from in “normal” spaces in society. After experiencing this mission as a student of the program, I realize how much of a powerful impact it has on a growing child as it grants experiences that youth may have never witnessed. This empowers students to welcome and accept that radical imagination, beloved community, and healing justice are things that are possible even beyond the walls of Humanities Amped.