Forever Changed

Book excerpt: In 1990, with no experience in the nonprofit sector, psychiatric nurse Linda Mornell started Summer Search, a program commited to creating one of the few opportunities in the country where adolescents from all economic backgrounds are given the chance to work and live together for an extended period of weeks or months in summer experiential education programs. Most programs like this are expensive and not available to low-income youth. Seeing an opportunity to change that, Mornell began Summer Search in San Francisco with 14 students and a budget of $30,000. Her passion and desire to change the path for these 14 students has blossomed into an even larger impact today—to give the life-changing experience to more than 2,200 students in the Bay Area, Boston, New York City, Seattle, and Philadelphia annually. Forever Changed documents the importance of adolescents from all economic groups being able to attend the same summer programs that adolescents from more privileged backgrounds have found so beneficial. It includes compelling stories of Summer Search students who each faced specific challenges, such as learning disabilities and behavioral problems. In the book, Mornell persuasively argues how summer experiential education programs can aid in the growing need for adolescents to find their own voice and embark on a path of success.