STORIES OF IMPACT | Sakib H.
Finding His Voice through His Journey of Becoming A Leader
As a sophomore at the West Bronx Academy, Sakib learned about CatRock Ventures after his teacher recommended that he apply to the CatRock Youth Leadership Academy. “I was nominated by my teacher and I didn’t really know what CatRock was. And when I heard all the adventures that everyone goes to in the program, I decided to join.”
CatRock’s promise of adventure beyond New York City is appealing to many Bronx youth who otherwise have no access to the outdoors. Kids like Sakib, whose idea of outdoor activities are limited to biking riding and going to the gym, become inspired when barriers to activities like snowboarding, snowshoeing, canoeing, and even hiking in the backcountry of Montana are removed.
But students quickly learn that CatRock is more than recreation. Outdoor adventure activities are powerful hooks but the real game for CatRock is about learning and growing. As a CatRock student, Sakib began to discover just how much about himself he did not know.
“I was in almost all the programs, actually, and even went to the big trips like Vermont and Delaware River canoeing. I learned that I’m a quick learner. This was one of the weird things when we were at Vermont. We were sitting in a circle and I think it was Tim [a volunteer] taught us to make knots and I just learned eight different knots in a few minutes.”
“I’m not that bad of a leader as I thought. I always usually let other people do the leading and I’m more of a follower. But the program actually taught me that I can be a leader.”
Sakib was also struck by the sense of community and the connections that CatRock make possible. Relationships are at the center of CatRock’s programming because they are critically important in fostering positive developmental outcomes.
“The best part about being a CatRock student is meeting new people and meeting new volunteers. Every year we sometimes get new volunteers. But all the volunteers are really approachable and really nice people.”
The close relationships that volunteers and alumni leaders form with students creates a supportive environment where students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones. Forming those bonds with CatRock volunteers was how Sakib ended up returning to CatRock as an alumnus—a role in which he began to find his own voice and understand how to tap his leadership potential.
Initially, Sakib thought he would have to change his personality, which he describes as rowdy and talkative, to lead new students as an alumni leader. But after Craig [CatRock’s executive director] encouraged him to be himself and test out his own style of leadership, Sakib realized his rowdy talkative nature could help shy students open up. “I try to get them involved when they don’t want to get involved. I’m not that bad of a leader as I thought. I always usually let other people do the leading and I’m more of a follower. But the program actually taught me that I can be a leader.”
With college on the horizon and his future ahead of him, Sakib knows that his time with CatRock has shaped him in more ways than one. It is the strength of his own voice, however, that stands out, and it is the people and places of CatRock that helped him hear it.