Not everyone earns high school credits for working on a Hard Core web site. But I did.

Shocked?

Well, get your mind out of the gutter! I'm part of a unique high school class where I helped to design the web site for the "Hard Core Military Style Training" fitness company.

When I first found the Youth and New Media Internship Program, I was excited to finally come across a program that was relevant to my life and to my future. My experiences with high school had been less than great. I had attended three different schools and nowhere was my interest sparked like it has been in this program.

All of the students in the program were like me, in danger of not completing high school. Some are teenage parents, a few have been in trouble with the law, and others have to work full-time. The thing that we all have in common is that we are struggling to get our diploma.

Students in Youth and New Media are attracted to the program because it gives us academic hope; support; practical and relevant skills; a high school credit; and, aside from all this, a final outcome we can look at with pride: our web sites.

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We work in teams of four or five to design a total of six professional web sites each term. Local small businesses or non-profit organizations are using the work we complete in class. I think it's cool that organizations that would have trouble getting a web site on their own are receiving a helping hand while we get an education.

In the course, I've learned to word process, use a digital camera, design web graphics and write code in HTML. And those are just the computer skills. Working with my "Hard Core" clients, for example, has taught me "real world" lessons about effective teamwork, setting deadlines for myself, and reaching my goals.

Besides working on our client projects, we've had guest experts come into our class from companies such as Shift Magazine and TV Ontario. They've guided us in project management, graphic design and computer animation. We also get to visit new media companies like Extend Media and Devlin Applied Design, which is super-cool, because we can sneak behind the scenes and see what it would be like to work in the field.

It all sounds great, right? Well it's not. I guess some things are too good to be true.

The survival of Youth and New Media is now in jeopardy. Last July, The Toronto Star reported that Human Resources Development Canada was pulling the plug on the funding for programs like ours. Thankfully, the United Way has kept us going until the end of January with some emergency funds, but now that window has closed as well. A scaled-back version of the program will run for one more term, but a new infusion of cash is desperately needed.

Youth and New Media was established three years ago by St. Stephen's Community House and has provided 175 students with hands-on training and the motivation to continue with their studies. Now all of that is at risk.

"It is a shame that in a climate of cutbacks and budget worries, the truly more valuable programs are the first to go," says Andie Burk, a teacher from Oakville who signed the guestbook on our class web site. "When measuring value, I think it is important to remind ourselves of the long term benefits such a program has for youth, our community, business and society."

My classmates and I often discuss how we wish all of high school was as gratifying as Youth and New Media. Instead of our teachers telling us that we can't surf the web for fun, here we're assigned to do it! It sucks that the only class we're enjoying is the one being given the axe. I don't want to see my classmates deprived of scholastic stimulation, and I don't want to see my teacher out of a job.

This is where the pedal meets the metal: we need a funding source in order to continue. All of us at Youth and New Media are busting our butts to keep this program alive for as long as possible.

If you would like more information, please call (416) 975-1987 or visit our web site, www.cityyouth.org.

Irene Chu is 19 years old.

* Good news. Jeff Harris, the Youth and New Media co-ordinator, has just informed us that the program will be running until the end of July on its, "existing budget of zero dollars," but that he has higher hopes for its future. He told YPP, "Currently funding proposals are being put together for the fall which would allow us to do many things - like pay rent, enlarge our space, get new equipment, and pay for a co-ordinator. We think there is a lot of interest out there for us. So we're confident that we will get funding for the fall." - Ed.