STORIES OF IMPACT | Melanie D.
Making a Difference through Mentorship and Community
“In the beginning, I would wait for the next CatRock event or for someone to come engage me in an activity,” says Melanie, a CatRock alumnus. “But now I'm the one who's engaging others, I'm the one who's reaching out to Craig asking, do you need any help? Is there a trip going on that you need help planning?” I'm proud to say I've stepped up, rather than just being someone who follows. I'm definitely leading.”
Melanie was impressed with the CatRock program because it was about more than just having fun on trips and experiencing new things. “They really had down to earth conversations and genuine dialogues about becoming the person you want to be. Through these dialogues, I saw the genuine intentions of the volunteers,” she recalls. “Rather than just asking, are you having a great time on this trip? It was always more like, how is this helping you grow and succeed? It was more about developing your interpersonal behaviors and skills.”
Melanie is particularly proud of the way CatRock tries to “engage as many students as possible without forcing them to do anything that they're not comfortable with. And they're always reaching out to new students and involving the community.” She remembers a trip to Patagonia clothing company where the students learned about how the founders started the company. “I really appreciate the fact that CatRock is always finding ways to branch out and provide new opportunities that are not easily accessible. They’re always listening to students and what interests them.”
Melanie is happy to be able to continue working with CatRock while in college, and not just on weekends. She’s taking a course called Community Service-Learning Engagement.
CatRock recently partnered with Young Women Who Crush, a rock-climbing group. “They're always at the forefront of the community,” Melanie explains. “They're willing to put themselves out there, willing to find new programs and introduce new things. It's great to be involved with an organization that provides so many opportunities, rather than just a couple of trips a year or a couple of workshops. They have strong leaders with great intentions and they truly do care for the students.”
Melanie is happy to be able to continue working with CatRock while in college, and not just on weekends. She’s taking a course called Community Service-Learning Engagement. She reached out to Craig and is working on a couple of projects during the semester. One project is interviewing high school administrators to “get their perspective on the CatRock experience and learn ways we can grow or how they've seen us grow over the years,” she explains. “It’ll be interesting to learn a little bit more about CatRock through that perspective.” Another project involves a diagnostic survey with questions that predict how a student’s characteristics line up with certain careers or colleges. “We want to run a test group to see how successful it is, then from there determine whether or not we want to implement the program, which I think would be really cool. It’ll depend on how easy it is and accessible, and how honest students are to themselves. We want to ensure we are using our resources the best way possible,” she says.
“The best part about CatRock,” says Melanie, “is that if you ever need help, it’s there. If you need a space to study, the lodge is available, if you need any type of resource, they always find a way to provide.” Melanie remembers how Craig helped her best friend Gabby, who was also part of the program. Gabby needed help with college tuition. “Gabby and I had no idea what to do,” she recalls, “so we reached out to CatRock.” Craig put her in contact with someone who was able to help her. “They're always there to provide assistance and guidance in our best and worst moments,” Melanie declares. “Having mentors who truly do care made a difference. They helped us realize that there are options out there and that we can look for new ways to approach our challenges.”
Melanie’s eager to continue her involvement with CatRock once she graduates from college. “I always want to find a way to be engaged,” she proclaims, “maybe even join the board or something like that to help raise money, because I definitely believe in the mission of the program.”