Fundraiser May 8 supports critical programs for youth and families in the Phillips neighborhood

Jazmine Panora is an engineer at Microsoft. She grew up in the underserved Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis and graduated from Banyan Community Family and Youth Development Center’s ASPIRE high school program, where she learned to think big.

“I don’t want people to think I will just be stuck here, or I won’t grow enough, or there is no potential in me because of where I am from,” said Panora. “There are infinite things I can achieve.”

Panora will tell her story on Thursday morning, May 8, at Banyan Community’s annual fundraiser. For 27 years, the non-profit has supported local families by offering youth development and support programs such as after-school groups, summer camps, and early childhood education. Banyan programming also expands into community offerings like development classes for parents, high school tutoring programs, and senior social clubs.

Panora was part of ASPIRE, Banyan’s intensive high school academic support program led by trained staff and expert volunteers, including engineers and business leaders who not only help youth with the homework but also build relationships and open young minds to career possibilities. The program has resulted in a 100 percent high school graduation rate for more than 15 years.

ASPIRE is where Panora abandoned the limits or expectations typically placed on members of her community. There she started to develop an interest in math and science, but didn’t know what that could mean for her.  “If you love math and science, engineering is an option. But when you hear that as a kid, you don’t know what it is. Being a woman, I’d never seen or met anyone like that.”

Exposure to people in the engineering field gave Panora concrete examples of how to use her love of STEM to build a career.

“I had a couple of tutors who were engineers who would just talk to me about what they did at work,” Panora recalled. “One of them worked for a car company and they would travel to Europe and test out products and I just thought that was super cool!”

Panora went on to attend and graduate from the University of Minnesota and is currently a technical support engineer at Microsoft. She also serves as a board member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and volunteers at Banyan as a tutor and concrete example of a woman fulfilling a career in STEM.

“I didn’t realize there were infinite possibilities. This allows kids to look beyond the Phillips neighborhood at what they can be. That hits close to home for me because I couldn’t picture myself beyond the Phillips neighborhood.”

Meet Panora and the Banyan Community at its annual corporate gathering. The event hosted by Sheletta Brundidge takes place on May 8 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the historic Coliseum at 2708 East Lake Street in Minneapolis. Coffee and breakfast will be served. Purchase tickets and learn more at: https://banyancommunity.org/banyan-events/corporate-gathering-2025/