To begin, I worked with AYM staff and mentors to clarify the core challenge: students often didn’t know where to begin with their essays, and mentors didn’t have a clear framework to guide them. From there, I scoped the course around three key outcomes: helping students reflect meaningfully, structure their essays, and avoid common pitfalls. I mapped out the course flow in Google Slides and then storyboarded each section, scripting prompts and activities that would feel approachable and encouraging.

Because AYM supports students holistically, the instructional tone needed to be both motivational and reflective, blending practical writing support with personal growth. I organized the content into three short, digestible lessons so learners could progress at their own pace or revisit specific sections during mentoring sessions. This tool could also be used during a mentorship session as a guide for the mentor and student. I chose to use Rise 360 for its clean, mobile-friendly format, allowing both students and mentors to access the resource easily on any device. I also provided a downloadable PDF at the end of the course so that students could have a quick guide to the information they learned.

While the course is content-rich, I prioritized keeping learners engaged through interaction rather than long blocks of text. Each section invites active participation—students brainstorm ideas directly within reflection blocks, compare sample essay excerpts, and respond to self-check questions that reinforce key takeaways.

For mentors, interactive segments model how to ask guiding questions, provide feedback, and help students uncover stronger narratives without taking over the writing process. Embedded knowledge checks, branching examples, and real essay excerpts encourage critical thinking while maintaining a supportive tone. The result is a course that feels conversational and collaborative, helping both students and mentors learn by doing.

Visually, the course was designed to reflect AYM’s bright, encouraging energy. I used a clean layout with bright accent colors, soft gradients, and clear icons to make the content approachable for high school learners. Illustrations were chosen to feel authentic and relatable—students could see themselves represented in the imagery.

Each lesson follows a clear visual rhythm—introductory text, activities, reflection—so learners always know what to expect. The design reinforces the course’s purpose: to make essay writing less intimidating and to remind students that their stories, backgrounds, and voices matter.