With most of her high school life altered by a pandemic, Symphony J. was determined to rebuild community connections and end senior year on a positive note. She wanted to ensure that every student at The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of Brooklyn could feel confident and beautiful at their prom, regardless of financial constraints. Her creativity, aptitude for fashion, and care for her community led to the school’s first-ever Prom Squad, showing that one thoughtful individual can leave a lasting impact. 

A Brooklyn native with deep family roots in Bushwick, Symphony joined the TYWLS community in sixth grade. After nearly three years of remote and hybrid learning, social distancing, and personal losses, she came back to what felt like a subdued environment. Symphony decided to tap into her creativity and leadership skills to reignite school spirit in the first full “normal” year since the pandemic. As someone who loves dance, art, and “pretty much every extracurricular activity out there,” she was eager to get the school involved in projects that created a shared sense of community. 

Initial efforts, like her attempt to restart intramural volleyball, didn’t gain momentum. Yet Symphony viewed each setback as a chance to try something new and further develop leadership skills she gained at TYWLS. Her community origami project was a labor of love to successfully get every student and faculty member in the school to create a piece of art and display them throughout the hallways. “Every time we walked out and saw the art, it was like seeing our bonds of sisterhood and friendship alive. We were missing that for most of our high school years.” 

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