Start with a wide lens.
Explore corporations, sports, media, aviation, technology, skilled trades, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, shaped by local access.
The core I2A offering
A bigger world.
A stronger sense of self.
Eight weeks of discovery and leadership development, personally led by Sensei Dave Armstrong during the initial pilots.
Explore a 2027 Pilot Partnership10 to 15Young people in one cohort
8 weeksPrimarily delivered in person
5 to 6 hoursWeekly Exposure Day, including transportation and lunch
90 minutesWeekly Leadership Training Day
Exposure Day
Past the front door.
Into the world behind it.
Let young people experience the possibilities. Move through a real organization, meet people across different roles, ask questions, and take part where safe and appropriate.
From the production floor to the people making decisions.
Follow an idea through an organization. Ask who builds it, who moves it, who funds it, and how the teams work together.
- Frontline operations
- Production
- Logistics
- Technology
- Human resources
- Marketing
- Finance
- Management and leadership
A whole world of opportunity behind the game.
Explore the people who help a team compete and a venue come alive. Discover roles that connect an interest in sport with very different skills.
- Players and coaches
- Training staff
- Physical therapy
- Media
- Marketing
- Ticketing
- Facilities
- Operations and finance
Follow a story from the first question to the final broadcast.
Meet the teams on both sides of the camera and explore how a story is researched, produced, edited, and shared.
- Journalists
- Producers
- Studios
- Control rooms
- Camera crews
- Editing
- Technology
- Sales and administration
Listen to what sparks interest.
Let participants’ questions and preferences guide later visits. A broad first experience can become a more personal direction.
Build familiar connections.
Combine new people with returning professional relationships, and explore the next opportunities that fit each young person.
Eight Exposure Days are planned across the cohort. Each visit includes transportation and lunch within its five to six hour total.
Leadership Training Day
“I am more than my circumstances.
I am a leader.”
A separate 90 minute interactive session each week gives young people space to develop practical skills and decide what they want to do with what they discover.
Know who you are.
Leadership identity, hope, self belief, discovering your “why,” and finding the motivation that comes from within.
Choose how you respond.
Emotional regulation, resilience, communication, decision making, and the difference between reacting and responding.
Move toward your future.
Future vision, goal setting, accountability, reflection, and meaningful action that young people help choose for themselves.
The Exposure Day brings the learning to life. The leadership session also has its own purpose, with discussion, practice, and decisions that reach beyond the visit.
Because of you, I have become more confident and feel even more prepared to keep striving in my speaking career.
Jamie describes the founder’s earlier mentoring, not participation in the proposed I2A pilot.
Pilot learning and accountability
Listen carefully.
Learn what changes.
We intend to agree on practical measures with each partner before launch, then use participant feedback and early findings to improve delivery.
How young people see themselves
Leadership identity, hope, future possibilities, and intrinsic motivation.
What they practice and choose
Emotional regulation, goals, decision making, and meaningful action.
How the experience feels
Participant voice, belonging, accessibility, engagement, and program quality.
What partners can learn
Attendance, experience delivery, barriers, costs, and improvements needed before another cohort.
Where the evidence stands
Research supports the value of career exploration, positive relationships, and youth participation. Testimonials describe the founder’s past work. I2A’s eight week model has not yet demonstrated long term effectiveness. Initial pilot findings will help us understand feasibility and early changes; they will not, on their own, establish that I2A caused those changes.
Before the cohort
Agree on questions, appropriate measures, permissions, and a proportionate plan for handling participant information.
During the cohort
Use brief check ins, reflection, attendance, and delivery notes to hear what is working and adjust when needed.
At the close
Review participant experience, early measures, and implementation lessons with the partner. Agree on next steps and any feasible follow up.
Research informing our design
- OECD, The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation (2025) ↗
Career exploration and contact with people in work are associated with better transitions into employment. This is broader evidence, not a test of I2A.
- Search Institute, Developmental Relationships Framework ↗
Relationships that offer care, support, challenge, shared power, and wider possibilities inform our attention to connection and youth voice.
- Children’s Bureau, Using Your Voice (2021) ↗
Young people should help shape decisions about their lives. Their preferences belong at the center of planning.
- CDC Program Evaluation Framework (2024) ↗
Evaluation planning, collaboration, and the use of findings guide our proposed approach to pilot learning.
They loved it. They sat around the table and watched everything.
Dr. Kaiser also describes sharing Dave’s video with young people in detention. This reflects the founder’s prior support for an educator.
Planning a pilot
The practical questions matter.
Young people impacted by foster care, juvenile justice, residential care, instability, and other adversity. Schools and community organizations may also be a fit. Participant ages, readiness, accessibility needs, and the makeup of the cohort are agreed with the partner.
The core model includes immersive offsite Exposure Days. We must first confirm whether young people can participate under the facility’s requirements. When offsite access is not feasible, we can discuss a separately scoped workshop or adapted offering. We will be clear about how that differs from the full cohort.
Transportation and supervision responsibilities are agreed with each partner before launch. Planning covers capacity, insurance, accessibility, permissions, supervision, meals, and emergency procedures so the experience can be delivered safely and practically.
Caring Adults is a separate program or optional addition. It is not a required component of the eight week Youth Empowerment Program. Formal mentoring is also separate and would be explored through established mentoring or advocacy organizations.
Each young person should leave with a clearer next step and an action plan they helped shape. With the host organization, we will explore appropriate ongoing opportunities and connections. Internships, employment, scholarships, and mentor matches depend on partner availability, eligibility, and the young person’s preferences.
The investment is scoped with each partner around delivery, local experiences, staffing, transportation, participant needs, and evaluation. There is no fixed public pilot price. We will agree on a delivery budget and responsibilities before making a commitment.
Accepting 2027 pilot partnerships
Let’s help young people see what could come next.
Tell us about your young people, your community, and the possibilities you want to help create.
Explore a 2027 Pilot PartnershipOr email info@upna.net