The growing demand and interest for Citizens of the World, Inc, programs is very encouraging at a time when students of color and their families need our support. Our programs empower students across Massachusetts to achieve long-term educational success. We expand access to first-generation and other students who are currently navigating the college admissions process.

Before formalizing as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Citizens of the World, Inc. developed and piloted community-based programs that laid the groundwork for our current HBCU Expositions and Tours. Our work began in 2009 when we were invited to co-design a Symposium on Black Boys in Education at The Shady Hill School in Cambridge. That convening marked the start of our long-standing commitment to creating intentional spaces where young people and families can engage honestly with educational challenges and opportunities.

Out of this work emerged Sunday Fun Day, a sustained enrichment initiative hosted at the Russell Youth Center in Cambridge. Over six years, the program operated thirty weeks per year, providing weekly academic, recreational, and career-focused programming to hundreds of students. Initially designed to support male students, the program later expanded to include female participants, reflecting our inclusive and responsive approach to youth development.

In 2016, Citizens of the World, Inc. launched the College and Career Camp (CCC) as a Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program worksite. This six-week experience exposed Cambridge high school students to college exploration and connected them with more than 30 professionals, helping students better understand pathways from education to meaningful careers. While CCC concluded due to funding constraints, its core principles later shaped RECESS, a post-COVID initiative developed in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and Cambridge Public Schools to support students’ transition back to in-person learning through youth-led academic and recreational programming.

Over three summers leading RECESS, our work expanded to include the first Citizens of the World HBCU Tour and Exposition, deepening our focus on addressing educational inequities. Grounded in community-driven leadership, our programs affirm identity, build aspiration, and expand access by exposing students to the rich legacy, culture, and opportunities of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Citizens of the World, Inc. has been recognized as Drum Majors for Education by the Cambridge Branch of the NAACP, honored as Social Innovators by the Cambridge Community Foundation, and awarded the Self-Determination Award by Boston’s Black Business Development Group.