Black Knowledge Poster by the The L.E.V.E.L. up office.

L.E.V.E.L up is a leadership program for K-12 students and Black students. It was founded by Marian’s K-12 students and the multicultural programs.

L.E.V.E.L stands for leveraging, equity, values, and empowerment in leadership, according to Angelica Smith, director of multicultural programs. 

According to Smith, this program was designed for students who are black and or within the African diaspora at Marian. She said it was originally designed for first-year students to enhance their leadership skills. 

Smith co-founded the program with, Irorobeje Crystal Owhoso-Maddox, director of K-12 school and community programs. They said they created the program as a way to provide culturally relevant and responsive leadership development for the students at Marian. 

They said their objectives are that their students have enhanced leadership skills around specific areas such as personal branding, and internal development. They incorporate academics in a way for the students to learn leadership skills by giving them assignments. 

They want their students to have a clear understanding of what leadership looks like in the 21st century.

The journey of creating level up began because two people had the same passion, Smith and Owhoso-Maddox said they “wanted to be able to communicate and help their students from a cultural point of view that make them feel safe.”

“For my Black students you must really understand what you want,” said Smith. “There is a spiritual essence to being black.”