by Ryan P. Ives

Twenty-four Somerville teenagers graduated from the first session of the Leader in Training/Counselor in Training job training program at the at 1:30 p.m. ceremony July 29 at the Somerville Community Youth Program Building.

“It’s really giving young people positive choices to be leaders in the community. We’re trying to empower young people to be leaders in the community and to institute social and behavioral change,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who addressed the graduates.

The ceremony began with performances written by the teen participants in the program. The final of three performances were original raps about the program by Jose R. Mendez, 15, and Josiah J. Fowler, 14.

In Mendez’s rap “Goodbye” he said: “I’ll never forget you people were my teachers/You guys were more than that you were also great leaders/You talked specifically and right to the point/And the things you taught us we can’t ignore.”

Mendez was followed immediately by Fowler’s rap “No Goodbyes just C U Laters.”

Standing in front of his fellow leaders and the proud friends and family members, Fowler said: “So I’mma send this out to all my C.I.T./L.I.T.’s hearts/Cause I don’t know what we’re gonna do when we’re apart/You prepared us for this dirty world/ Now we gotta be examples to every man, woman, boy and girl.”

The four-week L.I.T./C.I.T. job training program prepares Somerville teens to eventually become camp counselors or to work in other leadership roles through team building, leadership training and diversity education said Robbie Cartmill, director of the program.

The teens spent 30 hours a week training during the first three weeks of the program, and then spent the final week working as a counselor-in-training at a Somerville day camp, he said. Graduates received a certificate, stipend, and a pin from the mayor.

For Cartmill, the most rewarding thrill of his first sessions as Director of the L.I.T./C.I.T. Job Training Program was watching the youth leaders complete the course, he said. “I think the best part is today. To see everybody having come together, not just the kids, but also the parents and the community.”

“Knowing that the progress I saw this summer was a reality,” he said.

“I thought it was excellent. The main thing I like about it is like the Mayor said: there were kids from every race and there was no bickering. That’s what we need as a community, to be able to work together,” said Jane A. Pina, grandmother of graduate Tiffany Rampkisson said of the program and ceremony.

Curtatone said he hoped the first graduates would share what they have learned with other Somerville teens and be a base to affect positive change among Somerville youth.

Cartmill, who emceed the ceremony, gave brief often-humorous introductions of each teen trying to highlight the spirit each participant added to the program.

When introducing Josiah Fowler, Cartmill said, “This next person, oh, what a pain in the butt. But, he’ll be your next president.”

After he received his certificate and pin from the mayor, Fowler looked back at his training, “I was surprised how much fun I really had. I thought it was going to be a summer school thing, but instead it was all about diversity and things I’m interested in,” said Fowler.