CHAMPION — Inspiring Minds, a free after-school and summer enrichment program for underrepresented Mahoning Valley youth in grades 3 to 12, hosted its third annual “IMpower Youth Conference” Saturday at which 120 members in grades 6 through 12 participated.

The all-day event took place at Kent State University at Trumbull..

The annual IM Youth Conference connects middle and high school students, allowing them to network, collaborate and learn new skills. Program Director Carl Diggs said Inspiring Minds is supported by grants, fundraisers and business sponsorships, and was founded by Deryck Toles in 2006.

“If you are an athlete, you are part of the gifted 10%. This program provides an opportunity for the other 90% who are not. Students are taught that they are producers, not consumers, and they are able to produce and change the way they respond to situations,” Diggs said.

Warren G. Harding High School student, Da’Najah Stella, 16, has been in the program since third grade and said what she likes most about the Inspiring Minds program is ” the whole atmosphere. We can be ourselves and are one big community.”

The day began with breakfast and a welcoming session, followed by a scavenger hunt, during which attendees had a chance to win gift cards. Following the scavenger hunt, students moved quickly to find the room for their first of eight sessions offered. Participants had the opportunity during the event to earn prizes such as laptops, gift cards and scholarships.

Warren Chapter Inspiring Minds summer staff member, Emari Edmonds, said, “Coming from a small town makes you think you can’t dream big, but this program shows you that you can.”

The sessions offered included a mental health session, which involved a classroom being used as a “chill room” in which members completed crossword puzzles and discussed the importance of reducing stress.

A financial literacy session was offered by 717 Credit Union representatives Sherri Bercheni and Porscha Bell, who taught members about many aspects of personal finance, including financial pitfalls, credit, debt, Roth IRAs, pyramid schemes and the importance of avoiding impulse spending.

Students were supplied with paint and paper in “Paint Your Feelings” and encouraged to be creative in a class led by IM graduate Journee Hardaway.

Fitness instructor Christina Rivera led members in a session titled “Inspired Wellness,” where she discussed the importance of a healthy diet and provided workout stations. Members worked out, doing exercises such as box jumps, squats, weightlifting and others.

Musician and instructor, Jeremy Walker, in his session “What is Music?” discussed the elements of music, with members practicing singing in different pitches.

Instructor Sharika Unique, an IM graduate herself, taught “The Steps to Be a Boss” in which she taught the basics of entrepreneurship.

Katrina Simms taught some Swahili vocabulary, and members learned some African dances to drums in her session entitled “Bold Steps: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future”.

Dr. Homer Warren led a session about producer consciousness titled “Your Life from Here On.”

The program began with an interactive talk with students by Dr. Shaundra Daily, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. Daily showed how students used block programming to choreograph dances in a virtual environment at one of her labs. She also demonstrated several examples of emotion sensing and how it is made possible using a combination of pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.