A vacant storefront in Mason City’s Southbridge Mall has been transformed into a student study and lounge space. The project was taken on by students from Mason City High School and Newman Catholic High School as part of the Youth Initiative for Leadership & Development program, or YIELD, through the Chamber of Commerce. Mark Bradley, a junior at Mason City High, says they hope the project brings more students to the mall.
“We noticed that the mall lacks student body in it most of the day, and we noticed that students often needed a space to socialize and study outside of school,” Bradley says. “We thought we could combine the two together, and thanks to Mr. Burnett the city administrator, those plans became a reality.”
Bradley says high school students will be able to use the space for many different activities.
“Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, it will just be open to the general high school body,” he says. “Anyone who wants to come and socialize or study, they are allowed to. We’ll be giving it out to organizations, student bodies, that want to use the space.”
Bradley says the space is divided into two areas — for studying and socializing.
“So there’s no strict of where you have to sit, but we wanted to make one side feel comfortable, more where you can talk to people, there’s games in that section and books to read,” he says. “The other side is more strict, and there’s more group tables and individual tables to help you study the way you want to.”
Students put in hours of hands-on work at the former Aladdin’s Castle space to create a safe, welcoming, affordable environment where students can study, relax, and connect, while also bringing new life to a long-unused space in the mall.
