Nathan Paluzzi
Program Director, Youth Sports
Q: What does an average day look like at Banner Neighborhoods?
A: The traditional workday is 9-5, we definitely are not traditional in after-school community work. We arrive in the mid-morning and focus on outreach, partnership building, and other administrative tasks. In the mid afternoon we prep for after-school programming, this involves gathering whatever equipment, snack and other supplies we’ll need for the afternoon. Shortly after this, we begin after-school sports programming. This includes time for tutoring and snack, followed by sports activities and group games.
Q: What kind of impact do you hope for on the youth in your program?
A: Within Banner Youth Sports, we hope to have both a short and long-term impact. In the short term, we aim to not only increase youths’ sports skills, but also their skills in teamwork, leadership, and communication. We achieve this through sports activities, workshops, and field trips. These include an exposure to new sports, careers, and creative fields. In the long term, we hope their experiences and skills will follow them into their teen years and young adulthood, and lead them to become skilled, independent, and driven citizens, in any fields and interests they choose to explore.
Q: What creative projects are you up to outside of Banner?
A: In my personal art practice, I’m currently working in digital illustration, painting, and photography, I’m also beginning to dabble in animation.
Q: How does your art practice influence the work you do at Banner?
A: Prior to Banner Youth Sports, in addition to my personal arts practice, my career in community education was centered around youth visual arts, inclusion, goal setting, and mediation. I call on these to build Banner Youth Sports into a whole child approach program. I bring aspects of art and creativity into the program through workshops, and community centered creative projects, with a sports-centric twist.
Q: What are you looking forward to in 2024 in partnership with Baltimore Clayworks?
A: 2024 marks my second year directing Youth Sports at Banner, and I’m very excited to expand our programming. In our upcoming Winter and Spring sessions , we’ll be expanding our after-school programming, workshops, and special programs. We are very excited to embark on a series of workshops in partnership with Baltimore ClayWorks centered around food, nutrition, and culture, with a element of intergenerational connection, with youth and their family members working in clay and fibers.
