Call for Applications: 2026 Emergent Leadership Program

Masa Center is now seeking applications for our 2026 Emergent Leadership Program in Battle Creek! Participants will receive $500 for completing the program, which will take place from 12pm-2:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from July 14th to August 6th. Any resident of Michigan 16 or older is eligible to apply to the second application cycle by June 5th Application link

The program is designed to develop academic proficiency and build community connections with participants especially related to Mexican, Latino, and broader cultural histories in Battle Creek. Through a series of workshops and community excursions, participants will increase proficiency with key leadership skills of collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. The program will help participants connect with a supportive network of peers, mentors, artists, business leaders, and educators.

There will be sessions 2 times per week to attend. These sessions will be a mix of “workshop days” where we participate in classroom activities and do work at our milpa learning farm (located at Leila Arboretum) and “excursions” where we go on field trips within Battle Creek. The end of the program will have a showcase of ways in which participants have decided to tell the story of what they have learned, how it shapes who they are, and connection to history. This has multi-medium options such as essays, murals, poems, art, etc.