With the idea that it takes a village to raise a child, Tyasha Ming took to MAJ’s List.

Her plan was to provide a summer mentorship programme for students between the ages of 13 and 15.

All she needed to pull it off were people with a range of skill sets who were willing to donate their expertise.

“I asked mentors from all walks of life to volunteer one to three hours of their time to come and teach the children a new [art] medium, skill or technique, or to provide some sort of career insight so that they're aware that their opportunities and their options are limitless,” she said. “[I wanted to help] them to understand the difference between preparing to be someone else's employee versus their own boss.

“So ensuring that our mentors were also different entrepreneurs was vital in order to provide sufficient entrepreneurship coaching and advice. I’m so grateful [for the] tremendous feedback.”

It goes live on Monday. Ms Ming insists that it is an intensive arts mentorship, “not a camp”.

She is offering it through Xpressions, a programme she started in 2016.

“It's very private. It's not typically in the public's eye because if I'm teaching mindfulness or expressive arts, I'm typically doing it with vulnerable, at-risk and/or abused clients, seeking to release traumatic experiences by simply expressing themselves in a new way using art,” she said.

It was something she’d discovered for herself as a teenager while studying in Spain on a gap year after her graduation from Saltus Grammar School.

“Barcelona fuelled my creativity, independence and sense of self. Barcelona became my happy place, my home away from home,” she said. “[It is where] I fell in love with art as a healing medium.”

She put that knowledge to work as a preschool teacher and an art teacher at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation where she taught sensory, expressive arts and mindfulness through Xpressions.

“I am not an art therapist, nor do I hold myself out to be. I enjoy showing others how to express without limits, using creative mediums to do so. Some are shocked to know that I too am a fully qualified barrister, called to both the Bermuda Bar and the Bar of England and Wales. I've only just recently left private practice this May.

“My niche area of late was helping abused and vulnerable victims. So I worked closely with the Centre Against Abuse and I secured a lot of their domestic violence protection orders for their client base.”

With no plans for the summer she decided to use the time to do something she really enjoyed.

What came to mind were the Hype Kings, a group of boys she met through Darren Woods, a friend who worked with the Ministry of National Security.

“He had brought a cohort of at-risk youth to my studio,” said Ms Ming, who taught a self-confidence building workshop out of the old Berkeley Institute at the time.

“Just listening to their experiences and looking at what we see in the news almost every single day … it blew my mind to think a child that age is being exposed to that much negativity.

“They legit, some of them, just did not like who they were, where they came from, what it was they were seeing and being exposed to and were just so grateful to be in a positive environment where they were able to express themselves and speak up and use a different medium.”

Ms Ming found she enjoyed “teaching them a different perspective, introspection, how to look in before they look out and seek from someone else”.

Remembering that “amazing experience”, and with her own daughter in mind, she decided to share a version of it with teenagers.

“My eldest child is 14. I don't want her to be consumed with television, social media or social drama over the summer when she can be investing in herself and her interests,” Ms Ming said.

“I want my teen to learn life skills – which we actively teach in and outside of the home – while gaining positive exposure to the real world, how it operates, what it has to offer and where exactly she fits within it. My desire is to equip her with all the tools necessary to drive her passions.”

Her mentor programme runs until the end of August and has a cap of ten students at a time.

One spot will be given free of cost each week to “a teen in need, who is unable to afford to attend but would benefit”.

“I am passionate about what I do. And when I'm doing it, I know I am influencing and/or positively impacting those that I am sharing with, because I see it. I feel it and I'm told it,” Ms Ming said.

Science teacher and “adventure counsellor” Akinyi Apopa will join the programme next month.

“We can't wait to explore the tribes, jungle, coastline, sea and the various different activities [that go with them] – kayaking, paddleboarding, or even surfing as we go,” Ms Ming said.

Hannah Emmerson, organiser of the Bermuda Sandcastle Competition, has agreed to teach sand sculpting; Yanna Smith of YannaNasia Designs is an interior and furniture designer and also a scribble artist.

“There's numerous mentors – chocolatiers, martial artists, large and small business entrepreneurs, motivational speakers, life coaches, various artists as well as carpenters, environmentalists, social media and marketing experts, horticulturists etc, willing to volunteer their time to teach at least one weekly cohort or provide career insight,” she said.

Meanwhile Asha Galloway will serve as the programme’s resident art teacher, running workshops alongside Ms Ming.

“We truly believe in community outreach and building a sustainable village to help raise children to the greatest versions of themselves,” she added.

Xpressions Intensive Arts Mentorship for Teens starts Monday and runs until September 1 from 8.45am until 3.30pm. Admission is $300 a week. For more information, @xpressionsbermuda on Instagram. Register at xpressionsbda@gmail.com