All it Takes is a Dream

Imagine her surprise when, in 2021, a colleague informed Peña that the local glass studio wanted to partner with her organization. She jumped at the chance to facilitate this partnership, and soon Foci was offering LEAP-affiliated students ‘flights’ of glass experiences, where they could take short workshops in kiln, flame and glassblowing techniques to gauge their interest. When Uffelman’s GAS conference proposal was accepted in late 2022, it became evident that Foci and LEAP would need to work together to expand the scope of the program. “We had to build a structure to be able to go to [GAS], and that's kind of what we use now. We have 22 sites in our network, and we're still working our way around to visit all of them. In the fall they do little tasters, and then the students that want to can apply for a 12-week course. They spend a month in each area, so a month in the classroom for kiln, and then a month doing flameworking and a month in the hot shop. That has been really successful. Then it turns into an internship... A proper apprenticeship that's recognized nationally,” Peña explains.

Uffelman worked with the LEAP program youth from the very beginning of the partnership until she departed mid-summer of 2025 to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in Glass and Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Leaving her role was a challenging decision, but after witnessing LEAP’s impact on her students’ trajectories, she is determined to leverage her degree to lead and expand similar programs in the future. Watching her students grow in confidence and community, Uffelman could see how upskilling in such a challenging medium as glass builds tenacity in many other areas of life. “Like — yes, it’s about glass and love for the material, but it’s also an amazing way to get to know other people.” She notes that her students would come away from experiences hungry for more — more glass knowledge — but they also wanted “to meet new people, to expand their community and make more connections because they can see how valuable it is.” This is no accident: LEAP, Peña notes, is specifically designed to mentor students towards the best version of themselves.

The program is based on a list of 20 tested competencies developed by Jobs for America — many of which are very practical, Peña explains. “Do a resume, do an interview, all of those things. But the other competencies are softer skills, like, are you able to ask for help with what you need? And have your needs met? What I see as a big success for our population is... Being able to see a young person begin to plant roots and start to thrive. And it happened to be that Foci was a very hospitable environment for them to thrive. But the environment alone is not what makes the success. It's all of the other pieces that go with it — are they able to have agency over themselves, and are they able to continue to show up and build healthy relationships and communicate their needs.”

Nothing will put a healthy relationship to the test like traveling with a group. In addition to the fever dream conference demo, LEAP students journeyed to Chicago to visit glass studios and collaborate with the youth from Project Fire. The students also visited the Corning Museum of Glass to participate in their Expanding Horizons — a program drawing students from opportunity-youth serving glass programs across the United States for a fully-funded week-long intensive of working with an established glass artist, discussing career development goals, and diving deep into the history of glassmaking.

One final trip bookended Uffelman’s time at Foci: chaperoning a cohort of four students on a cultural exchange to Venice as part of Laguna~B’s Autonoma program. International travel was a novelty for all of the participants, Uffelman says, but “they actually inspired me to be a little more confident in how I go about the world, because they’re not afraid to ask questions, to explore, or to do different things.”

Moncies Franco, a multi-hyphenate creative in his early twenties with passions for music and fashion as well as glass, has been present for all of abovementioned Foci x LEAP activations. His leadership as a trailblazer for the program, as Uffelman labeled him, has indelibly shaped the culture of its cohorts. He is a natural community builder who, Peña says, draws people to himself and helps them feel welcome, seen and heard. Franco attributes his comfort in looking out for his fellow students to a childhood spent looking out for his younger siblings. “When I was younger there weren’t adults in the house, so I'd be, like, looking after the younger children, and getting them involved in cleaning or if it's playing at the park, getting them involved playing with other kids.” He comes off as self-assured on first encounter but admits that, given the option, he’d prefer to keep to himself. “I may not look like it in crowded situations, but I’m actually a very nervous person,” he says. His openness to new experiences and new people is motivated by a sense of responsibility to his peers - he’s seen firsthand what doors chance encounters and an open mind can unlock, and never wants his friends to miss an opportunity. “Not everybody gets to experience the things that we experienced; where we come from, our families have never even left the country, so stuff like that is the extra bit of motivation for us.” On the trip to Detroit, Franco discovered a mural project in progress, asked the artist if they could help, and ended up with his group contributing to a public art project. “If I know there's an opportunity somewhere, I'm gonna want to help get my guys involved,” he explains. “Being the one to guide — that’s not a problem for me, because I’m doing it out of love — I love my guys.” This kind of leadership is why Franco has been tapped to start a new role as a liaison for LEAP, working at the point where Uffelman and Peña’s jobs overlapped. “Moncies will be our cultural ambassador, saying, ‘this is how we do this, this is how we care for each other.’ That frees us up to focus, so that where we used to be able to do three sections in the fall, now we can do six,” Peña says. “It doubles our capacity.” The way Franco modulated the energy of his group and kept their spirits up throughout the trip — with all the wonders and stresses that first-time international travel inevitably brings — was an affirmation that he is ready to take on this formal leadership role.

In Venice, the LEAP crew surveyed a dizzying lineup of art and culture curated by Autonoma’s creative director Ben Wright, and facilitated by Elisa Etrari — a warm and experienced local guide who connected with the students on day one. They toured the Guggenheim and the ducal palace, visited sites of the architectural biennial, and spent a few days blowing glass with the team of a local hot shop. A highlight of the trip was meeting glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra, the legend who elevated American Studio Glass with Murano’s long-secret techniques in the late 1970’s. “I cried,” says Uffelman. “It was such a privilege that all these studios in Murano were taking the time to be with us, and be very welcoming and honestly excited to work with the kids. And I think their excitement also excited our students a lot to work with them and get to know them better.” Then, of course, there were the side quests. The foursome took advantage of a spare hour one afternoon to join a pickup basketball game, navigating language and cultural barriers to build lasting memories. They hobnobbed and held their own at a Laguna~B opening, and somehow, in the midst of all of that, found time one night to shoot a music video with brand new friends discovered that day on a vaporetto. Leading with hearts forward, being unafraid of making new connections and chasing down new opportunities, you never know where you’re going to end up or who you’re going to meet.

“Good things can happen anywhere. All it takes is a little, ‘Hi, how are you?’” says Moncies Franco. He’s right — a little ‘Hi, how are you?’ and a dream.