Watertown Youth Coalition
Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders were excited to welcome and introduce ‘Mykee’ Fowlin to Watertown High School. ‘Mykee’ Fowlin, left, with WYC Peer Leaders, Shariel Joseph, Marcus Moore, and Ashley Mawanda.
Michael ‘Mykee’ Fowlin returned to Watertown High School on September 25th to perform his one-person show, “You Don’t Know Me Until You Know Me,” for an all-school assembly, the Watertown Youth Coalition announced.
As a professional actor with a doctorate degree in clinical psychology, he combines his skills and expertise to encourage people to transform the world by turning hurt into self-reflection, healing, and then action. The performance touched on topics including bullying, xenophobia, racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, dating and sexual violence, suicide, and more. While he didn’t shy away from difficult subject matter, he was able to do so in a way that connected with the students, moving the room from thoughtful quiet to roaring laughter throughout the performance. He urged students to respect each other and to celebrate both their differences and shared experiences.
“It touched on so many topics, so everyone in the room could get something from it,” said Kaitlin Tracy, a senior at WHS.
Other students agreed that the show felt very relevant to their lives, with some expressing hope that it would help encourage more dialogue about related topics in their school.
“I liked when he talked about masks, because it’s really true. Even your best friends don’t know everything about you. It was eye opening and changed your perspective,” added Olivia Haggerty, a junior at WHS. “Some of the things he talked about, people in our school have done before. They looked uncomfortable. It was a real life call out post and they all got added.”
The assembly was part of the Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders’ SPEAK Project (Sharing Personal Experiences And Knowledge). It was supported by Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, the Watertown Community Foundation, and the Watertown Education Foundation.
You can support future WYC Peer Leaders activities like this by supporting their team in Wayside’s annual 5K4Kids. 100% of funds donated or $5KGetaway raffle tickets bought through their team go directly to the WYC Peer Leadership program. Learn more or contribute here: bit.ly/wyc5k
About Watertown Youth Coalition
The Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC), overseen by Wayside Multi-Service Center, is a community coalition of youth, parents, residents, educators, police officers, medical professionals and local business owners committed to promoting healthy and positive lifestyles among Watertown youth.
Contact Dawn Graham, WYC Peer Leader Advisor, at dawn_graham@waysideyouth.org or 617-926-3600 x 2642 with any questions or for additional information about the WYC Peer Leadership Program.