CANADAHALIFAX news From modelling to magazines, Jessica Bowden has been a lifelong teen role model by admin 6 سبتمبر، 2021 written by admin 6 سبتمبر، 2021 343 The publisher of ‘Teens Now Talk’ has spent decades working to empower teens — and has a raft of accolades to prove it HALIFAXtoday\ Kieran Delamont Jessica Bowden might be the most accomplished Haligonian you’ve (probably) never heard of. She’s a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, awarded to her by former governor-general David Johnston; the governor-general before that, Michaëlle Jean, awarded her the Hope, Success and Empowerment Award, the first African Nova Scotian to do so. Tack that on to a list of other accolades: the HRM Volunteer Award, an induction into the Black Cultural Centre and a place on its Wall of Honour and the 2011 Haliward winner. She’s been one of the top models in Canada — the list really does go on. The accolades stem from her many years working with teenagers, most prominently as the publisher of Teens Now Talk magazine — a Maritime-published magazine that’s written by teens, for teens. “Our students, they are the writers,” she says. “We have close to maybe 50 or 60 students that write the magazine every quarter.” In its nearly 15-year history, they’ve published thousands and thousands of teenagers, writing on topics that matter to them. “They write, but they have no place to put it,” she says. “If you wrote poems, stories or short stories, there’s no place to put them.” But at Teens Now Talk, that sort of work has a home and an audience of other teenagers. Bowden’s work with teens started at the tail end of her modelling career — “my bread and butter,” Bowden says now — while she was giving a talk to students at a Cole Harbour high school. She’d injured her leg a few years earlier, which had let her shift into public speaking, but was scuttling her modelling career. “It was really, really weird for me to sit there and talk about Career Day, while I’m watching mine fall apart,” she recalls. “The more I talked to them, the madder I was getting because I’m realizing that my world’s falling apart. So when I asked them, ‘What is it you want to do?’ They just started talking over each other. You couldn’t hear them at all, it was like a bunch of chickens in a room. “So in two or three minutes, I went to the microphone and they started to calm down. I said, ‘You know something? no wonder no one knows what you want, because no one can hear you. We gotta find a way for people to hear you, for people to understand who you are.'” One thing led to another, and that started the process that would lead Teens Now Talk to start publishing in 2007. It has been publishing ever since; thousands of writers on countless topics that affect teens. “I’m the conductor,” she says, but the teens are really guiding the magazine. “One of the guidelines is very simple: what you write about, what you bring to the table, must empower, impact and give credit to more than just yourself.” Like a free journalism-school education, she helps connect the kids with experts to weigh in on important subjects. And forget any ideas you have of the magazine being full of stereotypical teen stuff. “They’re talking about education and things that they are living themselves — racism, sexism,” she says. “We had one young guy who was coming out, and he was terrified at how he would do that. So he wrote a poem, and he was able to see just how his words helped others.” It has led her into a world where she is a role model for teenagers, especially from the African Nova Scotian community around Mulgrave Park, her old stomping ground. She remembers being told that investing her time in the kids there was a waste. “They were telling me about these kids in this community who weren’t going to amount to anything, so why bother investing your time into them?” she says. “That’s when I looked at that person, right smack in the face, and said, ‘Listen. You’re talking about me. I’m from here.’” These sorts of things still exist out there for teenagers. “Poverty, racism, labelling, stigmatism, you name it — these are all things we had to deal with as kids,” she says. “They morph, you know, they become a chameleon, they take on the climate of fear at the moment in time. “It’s one of those things where you look at it and say, ‘How do you make a change? How do you make a difference?'” she says. “Going back from living in Mulgrave Park, to this very day, the same message is there: ‘be the change.’ So for me, I understand these youth when we talk.” And it hardly seems like she’s interested in slowing down just yet. The magazine is still used in schools. “We’ll drop off bundles at each school,” she says. They create and post videos — fun stuff, but also things on current events. “The magazine itself morphed into just having fun, while still having a magazine.” There is probably more official praise in her future, and while she’s typically modest about them, she sees it as important to offer a kind of role-model-ship. “The youth see it, and at least they know: they can follow in those footprints,” she says. “That’s the key.” This story was made possible by our Community Leaders Program partner. Thank you to Ultimate Home Comfort for helping to expand local news coverage in Halifax. Learn more 14 comments 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail admin previous post فرار 6 أسرى فلسطينيين من سجن “جلبوع” الإسرائيلي next post Airborne transmission of viruses ‘more prevalent than previously recognized’ You may also like ارتفاع إجمالي الناتج المحلي بـ0,3% في تشرين الأول... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 خبيرة إسرائيلية تطالب بالعدالة لضحايا العنف الجنسي في... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 كندا: تراجع عدد الوفيات بأشباه الأفيونيات بـ11%، لكنّه... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 A massive, menacing Steller’s sea eagle is dazzling... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 Three North Atlantic right whales spotted entangled this... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 Quebec doing better job at retaining immigrants, Atlantic... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 Halifax man charged after allegedly hitting police officer... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 Holiday travel could be tricky as Christmas storm... 24 ديسمبر، 2024 عقوبات صينية على منظمتيْن كنديتيْن تدعمان الإيغور والتيبتيّين 23 ديسمبر، 2024 مَنْح الدكتورة ندى جباضو وسام كندا من رتبة... 23 ديسمبر، 2024 14 comments an essay on man 13 نوفمبر، 2021 - 1:57 ص Keep up the great job and bringing in the group! http://multiessay.com Reply snacks for keto diet 18 نوفمبر، 2021 - 10:50 م Great looking internet site. Presume you did a great deal of your very own coding. https://ketogendiets.com/ Reply spongebob sex games 19 نوفمبر، 2021 - 2:08 ص say thanks to so a lot for your site it assists a whole lot. https://sexygamess.com/ Reply spiderman sex games 19 نوفمبر، 2021 - 7:24 ص Great website! It looks very professional! Maintain the great job! https://winsexgames.com/ Reply what is the keto diet 19 نوفمبر، 2021 - 9:47 م Love the website– very individual pleasant and whole lots to see! https://ketogendiet.net/ Reply what is the keto diet 19 نوفمبر، 2021 - 9:47 م Love the website– very individual pleasant and whole lots to see! https://ketogendiet.net/ Reply brother and sister play sex games 20 نوفمبر، 2021 - 2:10 ص thnx for sharing this well put together internet site. https://sex4games.com/ Reply keto diet. 20 نوفمبر، 2021 - 11:46 ص I like this website – its so usefull and helpfull. https://ketogenicdiets.net/ Reply is the keto diet safe for hypoglycemia 21 نوفمبر، 2021 - 10:32 ص Keep up the amazing work !! Lovin’ it! https://ketogenicdietinfo.com/ Reply 카지노사이트추천 22 نوفمبر، 2021 - 3:35 ص What’s up to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more from this web page, and your views are pleasant designed for new visitors. welcome to my page; https://main7.net/%ec%b9%b4%ec%a7%80%eb%85%b8%ec%82%ac%ec%9d%b4%ed%8a%b8%ec%b6%94%ec%b2%9c/ Reply 우리카지노 22 نوفمبر، 2021 - 3:52 ص It’s impressive that you are getting ideas from this article as well as from our argument made here. Great post, you have pointed out some wonderful details, I likewise believe this is a very wonderful website. check my page; https://amd1080.com/woori/ Reply dating a bi man as a gay man 12 يناير، 2022 - 5:39 م how much is membership for gay dating sites gay mature men dating site in california which senoir gay dating app has most members lakeland fl dating a bi man as a gay man Reply common expansion slots 22 يناير، 2022 - 9:30 ص fortune slots free online best time to play slots ashcroft slots machines common expansion slots Reply free aristocrat slots 2 فبراير، 2022 - 5:58 م pearl warriors slots myvegas slots on facebook slots online free free aristocrat slots Reply Leave a Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.