An Interview with Youth Advancement

Shefa Nola Benoit understands the importance of caring, supportive adults committed to providing a safe space so young people can thrive. She’s been a youth development professional for nearly three decades and has reimagined our Wardensville Garden Market Education Department into the Youth Advancement Department to focus more on youth development and leadership. We sat down with Shefa to discuss the importance of her department, her favorite aspects of the job, and why we all need to be part of the conversation and work.

How long has the Youth Advancement Department (YAD) been at Wardensville Garden Market/Farms Work Wonders?

The Education Department was the first department dedicated to supporting the student workers on our farm in 2017. Our growth and resources soared in that first couple of years, and the Education department expanded into the Youth Advancement Department in September 2019. The department has more than doubled since then to four full-time, two part-time, two interns, and a host of Junior Crew workers.

What is youth advancement and how does it benefit the students who work at Wardensville Garden Market?

Youth Advancement is very much what it sounds like; we are a team of caring, dedicated professionals who want to advance our young people forward through the most challenging years of their lives and beyond. While the concept of youth advancement at a workplace is new and revolutionary, it only makes sense when you understand the unique challenges and developmental stages of youth ages 14- to 24-years old. Having multiple opportunities to achieve goals, feel connected, seek guidance, brainstorm ideas, and safely experiment with options is just what teens need to navigate the rocky terrain that is adolescence. Youth Advancement at Farms Work Wonders and the Wardensville Garden Market is a strength-based team approach to this type of holistic support. It is both communal and individualized in its approach, seeking to meet each individual where they are and advancing them to where they want to be. When a young person is hired here, they inherit many benefits from the “Junior Crew Journey.” This journey takes them through a sequential and incremental growth process that fosters desirable personal and professional habits, develops a wide range of employment and entrepreneurial skills, supports their social-emotional well-being, advances their academic and career goals, and reinforces strong, healthy relationships. 

What is your previous experience and why do you do this work?

I have spent nearly 30 years working in progressively responsible positions within nonprofit organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs or private, higher learning institutions like Howard University. These have afforded me the opportunity to work with youth ages 6- to 26-years old. I’ve also worked in urban, suburban, and rural communities, all presenting their unique challenges but also, each demonstrating how the core needs of all youth, regardless of where they come from, must be addressed. My particular passion in youth work is using service projects as multi-sensory and interdisciplinary opportunities to build on social and emotional skills, encourage civic responsibility, and make academics more relevant so they can become better students who have increased clarity on the direction they want to take in life.

What is your title?

I’ve been privileged to serve as the Youth Advancement Director since the department’s inception in 2019. Prior, I had served Farms Work Wonders/Wardensville Garden Market as a mission-focused contractor for 1.5 years.

How do you continue to develop your knowledge to help the youth?

Besides staying connected to leading youth development organizations and resources, which includes networking, mentoring, and shadowing those who are blazing new paths, I find committing to a youth-led approach of mentorship keeps you up-to-date. With technology and social norms changing rapidly, it is very easy to be “outdated.” Though longitudinal studies and well-researched statistics have merit, nothing beats one-on-one conversations with the youth you hope to serve. What are they telling you? What are they not saying? Can they teach you something new? By allowing them a seat of expertise at the round table of their own lives, with guidance, you can rarely become irrelevant in this work.

What is your favorite part of being in this department?

After spending nearly three decades supporting youth in urban, suburban, and rural communities for leading nonprofits, working at Farms Work Wonders/Wardensville Garden Market is by far my favorite employer because we operate like an entrepreneurial venture, complete with all the creative inspiration that comes with that. By avoiding the traditional model of fundraising, where so much time, effort, and resources of a nonprofit are spent, our model allows everyone to be active stewards of our mission and creates a unification that is boundaryless. We keep a level of flexibility that is essential in meeting the various and changing needs of our community. Our operating model, which includes the support of inspired donors, frees us up to do the good work we set out to do, and, for us, that’s all about supporting our youth.

Is there anything you’ve learned in this work that you wish more adults understood? 

The teenage years can be very tumultuous. Between developmental growth, hormone spikes, environmental pressures, and socio-economic differences, they deal with more than they are equipped to handle. That’s where the adults in their life come in. First, by understanding their developmental stage and the behaviors most common. Why is this helpful? So you can address behaviors and not the individual. Teens seeking autonomy and independence are more prone to telling untruths, not because there’s anything inherently “bad” about them. When you know this, you can actively work in alternative ways they can experience that independence, safely, responsibly, and help them avoid “acting out” in unacceptable ways. It is also very important to understand, while teens may fight you all along the way, they do appreciate you not throwing in the towel. While it may feel you will never see the rewards of your hard work and commitment, the truth is it often comes years later when they shift into yet another developmental stage that allows them to reflect and assess their experiences and their emotions better. I’ve learned patience and faith by working with youth because, more time than not, the rewards far outweigh the struggle if you stick in there long enough.