The World Is Your Oyster ("TWIYO" pronounced twee-yo) is a youth development leadership program on a mission to broaden the horizons of urban youth through culture, travel and experiences. TWIYO currently operates in Brooklyn, New York as an after-school/out-of-school time program serving junior high and high school students.TWIYO’s programs expose Brooklyn youth to new perspectives by providing opportunities to learn about and serve their community. Our activities foster development of critical skills not typically offered in public schools. "High income families routinely treat after-school activities as part of their kids' education in creative critical thinking, and in skills they can't acquire from the classroom." Minority teens from urban environments are consistently precluded from these opportunities for a host of reasons including lack of access, programming, and resources. The World is Your Oyster seeks to fill that void through our mission. A primary tenant of our mission is to develop youth into cognizant and conscious leaders of tomorrow through our programs after school. TWIYO provides the tools needed to sidestep the many pitfalls commonly in the path of the under-served. Students raised in an inner city can experience a homogeneous environment that can create barriers for youth. Many of our youth have never left the city or borough; participated or engaged in cultural, historical, or educational events; or interacted with people from different socioeconomic and/or cultural backgrounds. TWIYO combats this through much needed cultural exposure and local travel within the city of New York. TWIYO recruits students by offering its application both through our school partner network onsite or students may apply through our website. TWIYO recruits students by offering information sessions and an application to students enrolled at our partner schools. The application is a tool to learn more about the youth we serve and gain insight into their needs.