A day in the life of an AMPED volunteer
Pictured above: AMPED Volunteers 2024-2025
AMPED, Arts and Music Program for Education in Detention Centers, is a CCE program run in collaboration with the Bienen School of Music that connects residents in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) with Northwestern volunteers through music creation. Volunteers spend their Saturdays during Winter and Spring Quarters volunteering at the JTDC to support residents as they reflect on music, create their own beats, and form connections with the world outside of the facility.
JTDC residents attend Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School, a Chicago Public School, during their time at the JTDC, and participate in enrichment programming like AMPED as part of their experience.
Michaiah Ligon, SESP ‘25 studying Learning and Organizational Change with minors in Psychology and Global Health, works with CCE as an AMPED and Communications Fellow. As a volunteer and student leadership team member with AMPED for the past two years, Michaiah is in a unique position to provide an insider’s perspective on the extensive time and energy volunteers dedicate to their work with AMPED.
Here is Michaiah’s reflection on an average Saturday as an AMPED volunteer:
“The AMPED program brings together all different kinds of people with the shared goal of bonding over an interest in music. A misconception of the program is that we wake up, magically get to Chicago, and make a few beats and then leave. A huge part of being a volunteer is proper preparation and thoughtfulness prior to sessions as well as a willingness to be open while we’re on site.
I begin my day with a hearty breakfast as we can’t bring food into JTDC. I make sure to pack a few snacks just in case one of the other volunteers overslept to make sure we can all show up as our best selves. On my drive into Chicago, I pick up three other volunteers to carpool together to the JTDC. On the drive, we often listen to our favorite songs and some of the songs that residents have suggested the week before to get our heads in the right space. Once we arrive, we meet up with the other 15 or so volunteers, who either travel by Metra or by car.
Once everyone is accounted for and our tech cart is in hand, we enter the JTDC, go through security, and are led by a supervisor through the halls of the JTDC. The interior is like a normal high school with walls adorned with posters, photos of the students graduating, performing in talent shows, and even photos of volunteers working with residents. The group often waits about twenty minutes to be called back into a classroom where the magic begins! Once the JTDC coordinator brings us into the classroom, students are often excited to see us, sticking out their hands to fist bump us or asking us questions about our weekends.
As volunteers, it is a privilege for us to be able to visit the JTDC and collaborate with residents. We are always sure to conduct ourselves in a way that is conscious of our environment. We know that we have a unique opportunity to even be in the JTDC, an opportunity most don’t have, and we carry that with both pride and deliberate intention.
We begin and end all our sessions with one of the residents reading our affirmation statement, ending with the word “Ase” or “ahh-sha”, a statement of agreement. Ase is a word derived from the Yoruba language, which means “so be it”. These affirmation statements are powerful sentiments like “my music is my freedom” and “my freedom is my future” which we always end with a group “Ase”. These affirmations are my favorite part of each session, as they help to connect us as one community with shared goals and aspirations. One of my personal goals in this program has been to always encourage the residents to find solace and encouragement in the fact that they will be free – whatever that means to them.
Next, we move into listening activities or creative lyrics writing games. We play the songs residents suggest, read the lyrics, and discuss reoccurring themes. Questions often come up like, is the song relatable? What does the music make you feel? Do you prefer the lyrics or the beat? We utilize these questions to spark conversation between residents and Northwestern students in order to create connections in the group.
Moving into the actual creation process, we pull out all our music production materials (MacBooks, iPads, headphones, splitters, microphones, journals, pens, and pencils). At this point, we give the residents free reign to create. Some residents write, some make beats, some feature on other people’s tracks, and some just want the opportunity to talk with us as students about our lives and experiences in college.
Sessions last about two hours. We are sure to save the projects no matter where they’re at in the creation process. Some tracks get picked back up the next session, or creators choose to start fresh each week. We allow residents to self-name their songs and themselves as artists. Some creators are already established Chicago rappers with impressive audiences and followers who have a clear vision of what they want to produce. As volunteers, we are simply there to bring the tools and facilitate the session, help them when they get stuck, or listen to provide feedback on their lyrics, essays, or even short stories.
The ride home from the JTDC is my second favorite part of the experience. On the way home, in my car, I always take time to reflect on our experience as volunteers. We talk about the highs and lows, what we feel, what we don’t feel, etc. There are weeks where residents share a tough story with us, and we carry their pain with us as we leave. The community we build amongst volunteers makes a world of difference in reflecting on what we experience at the JTDC, and it makes campus feel just a bit smaller.”
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