Arts and Music Programs for Education in Detention Centers

The Arts and Music Programs for Education in Detention Centers (AMPED) connects Northwestern student volunteers with incarcerated youth at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) through collaborative songwriting and music production.  

AMPED seeks to facilitate meaningful connections between participants by cultivating impactful experiences that underscore the potential of all people to be creative, musical, and helpful members of their community.   

AMPED was founded in 2010 by Dr. Maud Hickey and continues as a collaboration between the Center for Civic Engagement and the Bienen School of Music.

AMPED programming includes weekly one-hour sessions on Saturday afternoons from January through May at the Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative High School. Each session brings together 8 to 15 Northwestern student volunteers with a similar number of youth participants to explore music through critical discussion, lyric writing, and hands-on music production using digital software. Transportation is provided for Northwestern volunteers, who travel to and from the site together for each Saturday session. 

Northwestern students also take part in training and orientation sessions during Fall Quarter to prepare for AMPED programming in Winter and Spring Quarters.

Applications for AMPED volunteers for 2026-2027 are open! Apply now before Sunday, October 11, 2026.

Join our mailing list to be notified about upcoming deadlines and to stay up to date on upcoming AMPED opportunities.

For more information on AMPED, contact Patrick Horton.