STORIES OF IMPACT | Katia L.
What Happens When Youth Lead Youth - New pathways to success can unfold from the simplest things, like kayaking!
Just ask Katia Lopez. Her decision to attend a CatRock Ventures info session, at the urging of her high school science teacher, set her on the path to life-changing experiences in nature as a program participant and to her current role as a CatRock Program Leader. Today, Katia is a Barnard College sophomore and a shining example of what happens when youth are empowered not just to succeed, but to lead.
CatRock has always built students’ leadership skills. Recently, the organization expanded this work by providing opportunities for program alumni, like Katia, to serve as peer-mentors. These alumni share what they’ve learned with newcomers to the program and model what it means to live CatRock’s values, during immersive outdoor experiences and in everyday life. As youth leaders, their skills and passion become a catalyst for success, for themselves and other young people just like them.
Katia’s story is a powerful example of what happens when youth lead youth. Her journey started from the same place as many of her peers. Right up until her sophomore year in high school, the Bronx teen had never camped, hiked, or even learned how to ride a bike. "I didn't really do anything with my free time. It was just going to school and going home. So this was an opportunity to get further than the four walls of my school and my neighborhood."
Her first CatRock milestone? Pushing through fear and doubt to learn how to ride a bike. "Once you start doing it, the fear is, like, you forget that it's even there. Then after a while, you're just having fun and forget that you had all these doubts in the first place."
That initial burst of momentum led to even more achievements and a growing confidence in her ability to reach for new horizons — even just going up to someone new and introducing herself. "My experiences with CatRock helped me have more confidence and be more outgoing. I felt more comfortable just walking up to someone and saying ‘Hi, I'm Katia. What's your name?’ It helped me get that practice of getting to know people and being able to put myself out there."
Over time, Katia’s leadership potential started shining through. She used her newfound skills and confidence to build networks with her peers and share knowledge, support, and just plain fun. “You just start learning quickly when you're going on these trips... And then the next time there is the same question, you can answer it for someone else.” She even paid her new bike riding skills forward, teaching others how to hop on and start pedaling, coaching them in both English and Spanish.
The fact that Katia is bilingual isn’t just a nice bonus. It’s an example of how youth leadership helps improve the diversity, equity, and inclusiveness of CatRock’s programs. Given the barriers that often exclude Black and Latino youth from outdoor activities and youth empowerment opportunities, it’s important that they be able to learn and grow from people who look like them, can speak their languages, and know their challenges. As Katia puts it: “We're bringing new faces into the outdoors and making it more inclusive and accessible to people like us in the Bronx.” She goes on to say “I want to be that person for them that I had when I was in their position…I feel like giving back in that sense.”
CatRock Venture’s youth-led initiatives are made possible with the support and funding of Patagonia, the Green Relief and Recovery Fund, the Keaton’s Kids Foundation, National Recreation Foundation, Tom’s of Maine, and the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation.