Raymond Bargallo ('03) Designs New Era Cap

New Era caps used to be the on-field caps worn by Major League Baseball players and that's all.  Those days are over.  

New Eras have evolved into fashion accessories that are just as likely to be seen on the runways of Paris during Fashion Week as they are on the sets of music videos.  That's what makes Raymond Bargallo's accomplishment so cool.  

Since January of last year, New Era's team of world renowned designers have been working with Raymond and other Sweat Equity Enterprises (SEE) students to create an original line of caps & t-shirts.   The line launched about a month ago - including Raymond's Crazy Panda design. 

Inspired by Asian design, the Crazy Panda look plays with the culture's iconic panda character, adding a bit of edge and a bit of fun. 

As Raymond described the creative process, “I started by doing research and finding inspiration, then I put the elements together by sketching on paper and using Photoshop and Illustrator. I had to think about who I wanted to sell to and why they would buy this cap. You have to think about your audience: the consumer. It is different from a regular art class where you are just making a project for your portfolio; this is real.”

Raymond is now enrolled at F.I.T. and he hopes to become a "famous designer" after college.  It looks like he's well on his way.

You can purchase Raymond's Crazy Panda cap here, here or here.

You can learn more about Sweat Equity Enterprises here.

And you can learn more about the New Era x SEE collaboration here.

Introducing GOTO Boston’s Class of ‘09

GOTO Boston’s Scholarship Committee has selected another stellar class of scholarship recipients to attend Camp Med-o-Lark this summer. Check out the abbreviated bios of our latest group of all-stars below …

Ariana Caraballo Martinez: Ariana is looking forward to exploring the visual arts this summer at camp. She is a fan of Picasso and is looking forward to making new friends at Med-o-Lark.

Josue Hurtado: Josue’s passion for the arts is in drawing, and he is looking forward to learning new techniques this summer at camp. He also plays the drums and will bring rhythm to the group. He looks forward to learning how to make jewelry and spending a summer in the fresh air.

Thandiwe Ramsey (Mission Hill): Thandiwe is looking forward to all the wonderful things that Med-o-Lark has to offer. She currently enjoys drawing, dancing, and acting but is excited about trying horseback riding and water skiing. Her whole family enjoys the arts as well and will be excited to see what she creates this summer.

Marina Huenchunir (Excel Academy): Along with dancing, she also has aspirations to learn how to play the guitar and is interested in learning how to dance ballet, a new style for her. She is looking forward to making new friends this summer and trying lots of new activities.

Kevin Quintero (Excel Academy): Kevin enjoys the arts because they make him happy. He is looking forward to playing lots of different sports this summer at Med-o-Lark.

Jaiwaun Haggerty (Mission Hill): Jaiwaun is a fan of drawing and enjoys sketching things he sees. He has been doing Tae-Kwon-Do for six months and is already a yellow belt. He also looks forward to swimming and horseback riding.

Rashad Williams (Nativity Prep): Rashad enjoys the arts because they allow him to express his creativity. He draws comics and has created countless mini flip books. He is very active in sports as well and enjoys football, basketball, baseball, and skateboarding to name a few.

Andrew Felipe Cifuentes (Nativity Prep): Andrew is looking forward to spending the summer doing things he doesn’t get the opportunity to do during the school year. He is an avid skateboarder and loves music. He is a great singer and is looking forward to meeting friends from different backgrounds this summer.

Quang Ho Dang (Nativity Prep): Quang enjoys a number of different activities in the arts including acting, singing, and dancing. His enthusiasm will be a big hit at camp this summer, and he’ll be able to expand on his diverse array of skills.

Charles Anthony Lawrence (Nativity Prep): Charles enjoys acting and was just in a play called “Ben’s Trumpet” and also participated in “Nativity Prep American Idol”. He enjoys acting because it’s a fun way to get out of the house, meet new people, and be creative.

Paola Guzman (Roxbury Prep): Paola uses art to express her feelings and emotions and also to cheer herself up if she’s feeling down. She is looking forward to both meeting new people this summer who come from diverse backgrounds and to learning new things and having fun.

The Summer of 2004

The summer of 2004 was an exciting time for GOTO; our very first class of kids were entering their final year at Appel Farm.  

Alex Akulov, Sarima Ali, Joseph Gordon, Helen Tsyganko & Omar Williams spent three summers at Appel Farm and definitely made the most of their final session.  Here are some more pics from that year.

GOTO Boston: Expansion Creative

When we began recruiting volunteers & champions for GOTO's expansion into Boston in 2005, we were armed with some really creative artwork. Designed (for free) by a generous young New York City freelancer, the creative borrowed heavily from a popular Hasbro board game.

Because we were asking Boston's young professionals to take a chance on GOTO, the theme seemed appropriate (and clever). We thought it was pretty cool, but take a look & judge for yourself.

Postcards From Camp - 2005

Aleksandr Akulov ('02) in the New York Times

Every year, Nancy Foner (who's a sociology prof. at NYC's Hunter College) requires the students in her honors seminar course, "The Peopling of New York" to interview a close relative about their family's recent history. This year, GOTO's own Alex Akulov was one of Foner's students.

This winter, the New York Times interviewed Alex & a few other students and compiled their stories for an article. Here's a snippet from Family Stories as Secret Text for Immigrants:

Before interviewing his parents, Mr. Akulov had known that his mother had studied engineering in Russia, but, he said, “I hadn’t given it much thought.” As a child in Russia, he was far more aware of his father’s career as a doctor than his mother’s work, he said.

“At the time when we came to America, I wasn’t even sure what engineers did,” Mr. Akulov said in an interview.

When the family arrived in New York in 1998, Mr. Akulov’s parents both found work at a Russian-owned laundromat in the Bronx where they were paid less than minimum wage. His father made extra money delivering newspapers.

“I don’t know how they could take it psychologically,” he told the class. “That’s crazy sacrifice.” Mr. Akulov’s mother now works as an accountant for the Y.M.C.A., and his father is a clinical researcher at a nonprofit AIDS research organization.

Here's a link to the full article. You can also find an audio excerpt from Alex's oral history presentation on their site.

The article is a great read and an even greater testament to how determined & talented Alex is. Definitely check it out.

GOTO's Kids Tour NBC Studios

They don't look that excited, but believe us. They had a blast. Here's a pic of their parents (who had just as much fun as the kids).