Connecting Akron Youth to Their City 

SOLE Box began with a simple question: How can sneaker culture help Akron youth connect more deeply to their city, their potential, and the opportunities around them? Created by Dominique Waters, SOLE Box was envisioned as a culturally relevant STEM experience weaving together polymers, design, entrepreneurship, local history, and identity. At its core was a broader community need: Akron youth often lack meaningful connections to place, pathways, and spaces to express their voice. Through the Knight Emerging City Champions fellowship, Dominique sought to use SOLE Box as a vehicle for youth-centered activations across downtown Akron—creating opportunities for young people to experience their city as a classroom, discover pathways within Akron’s innovation economy, and see themselves as active contributors to their community. 

Photo taken during Student Presentations. Credit: Jubilee Studios, July 23, 2026, Sneaker Camp Expo.

he project reinforced the power of place. Downtown Akron became more than an event location; the city became part of the classroom. Young people explored Akron’s history, creative identity, polymer legacy, and future possibilities, then interpreted those ideas through their own designs and stories. 

From SOLE Box to Youth-Centered Placemaking 

The defining milestone of Dominique’s KECC year was seeing the SOLE Box vision grow from a STEM kit concept into a youth-led downtown activation. As the fellowship progressed, an opportunity emerged to activate a downtown space through a collaboration with Akron Sneaker Academy and its three-week Sneaker Camp. Rather than create a separate experience, Dominique recognized that ASA already had the youth, educational infrastructure, and community relationships needed to bring the Knight vision to life at a much larger scale. 

Sixty young people explored design, polymers, entrepreneurship, local history, identity, and storytelling before transforming their learning into a public Expo. Youth created 19 sneaker concepts inspired by Akron stories, curated the space, welcomed guests, presented their work, and invited visitors to share their own Akron stories. 

The activation drew over 300 community members. Its greatest success, however, was seeing young people take ownership. The downtown building effectively became an expanded SOLE Box—filled and led by youth. 

While the delivery model evolved, the project achieved its core goals and ultimately brought them to life at a larger scale. SOLE Box was designed to connect young people with polymers, design, entrepreneurship, local history, identity, and downtown Akron through culturally relevant learning experiences. 

Photo taken during Community Reception, featuring Akron Mayor Shammas Malik who attended the event. Credit: Jubilee Studios, July 23, 2026, Sneaker Camp Expo.

Dominique recognized that partnering with Akron Sneaker Academy and integrating the project into Sneaker Camp could leverage existing community infrastructure rather than building a separate program. The resulting Expo brought the original elements of SOLE Box together through an immersive, youth-led downtown activation. The most important evolution was moving from an experience designed for young people to one created with and led by them. The format changed, but the original vision of connecting youth to place, pathways, and voice remained at the center. 

The Expo offered a glimpse of what that idea could become at a larger scale. A temporary downtown space became a classroom, design studio, gallery, gathering place, and platform for youth leadership. That experience strengthened Dominique’s long-term vision for permanent infrastructure where young people can explore polymers, design, entrepreneurship, identity, and career pathways year-round.  

SOLE Box began as a container for learning. KECC helped reveal what becomes possible when the city itself becomes the container—and young people are trusted to fill it.

Trusting Youth to Shape the Experience 

“Goodyear Blimp” Ceramic Sneaker Design from the Soles of Akron: The 330 Collection, curated by middle-school students. This sneaker was designed by Jamar Robertson, 7th grade.  Credit: Jubilee Studios, July 23, 2026, Sneaker Camp Expo.

 One of Dominique’s greatest challenges was trust: trusting the timing, trusting an evolving project, and ultimately trusting young people with meaningful ownership. Securing the downtown space also required flexibility because the property remained on the market while plans for the summer activation developed. 

Rather than letting uncertainty stop the project, Dominique focused on the window of opportunity and adapted implementation around Sneaker Camp. As deadlines approached, he resisted the instinct to overproduce the experience for youth and increasingly allowed campers to take responsibility for the activation. That trust became one of the project’s greatest strengths. What initially felt uncertain ultimately created room for youth leadership, creativity, and ownership to emerge. 

The Expo demonstrated that the strongest outcomes emerged when adults provided structure, resources, access, and support while trusting youth to lead. Future activations will begin with that principle rather than discovering it along the way. 

The greatest lesson of Dominique’s fellowship year was that meaningful youth engagement does not always mean creating better experiences for young people. 

Sometimes it means creating the right conditions and trusting young people to build the experience themselves.

About Dominique Waters 

Dominique Waters is a proud Akron native and first-generation college graduate who studied Vocal Performance at Central State University. With over a decade of experience in fashion and retail, he’s held leadership roles at Lacoste, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Nike. Under Virgil Abloh’s direction, Dominique became the top menswear performer for Louis Vuitton in New York City. In 2024, he founded Akron Sneaker Academy to empower youth furthest from opportunity through culturally relevant STEM, social-emotional learning, and entrepreneurship. His work bridges fashion, innovation, and education to reimagine what’s possible for Akron’s next generation. 

Instagram: @domkwaters @akronsneakeracademy 

LinkedIn: @Dominique Waters 

Website: www.akronsneakeracademy.org/ 

#SOLEBox #UnboxYourPotential 

In the News: 

Akron middle schoolers turn sneaker design into big lessons: Growing STEM | wkyc.com 

Akron Beacon Journal Front Page Feature “SOLE BOX STEM KIT”