Healthy Communities • Y Stories • YMCA Camps and Outdoor Education • YMCA Volunteers
Patrick discovers his dream day by day
27 July 2018 - by Lucy Schmidt
By Lucy Schmidt
Working with young people can be challenging, but Patrick couldn’t imagine a more rewarding field of work. Thanks to his motivation for leadership opportunities and his desire to work with children and youth, he found a home as a volunteer, staff member, mentor, older brother, and friend at the YMCA. Here’s Patrick’s story:
In 2012, I began working as a supply staff in a YMCA Summer Day Camp. It was a role that changed the course of my life. I had originally planned to work with animals, but mentoring youth and children at the Y opened me up to a whole world of joy and challenges. I loved getting to provide kids with new experiences, and my hard work paid off — I was asked to become a team lead and given more responsibility! After that, I knew the sky was the limit and my journey at the Y was far from over.
Throughout the course of my career at the Y, I have worked with Camps and Child Care as a counselor, integration coordinator, and camp director. These experiences convinced me that helping young people was my calling. But something hadn’t quite fallen into place. I was torn between studying Early Childhood Education or Social Service Work. Making a decision like that is never easy, and if I had sat at home just thinking about it, I probably never would have made up my mind. But because I was getting hands-on experience, I was able to make an informed decision based on my own knowledge of my skills, passions, and strengths.
My experience taught me that I didn’t want to have to choose between working with youth or children. I wanted to do both! So I decided to enter a social work program, which gave me that flexibility. There, I was required to complete a hands-on placement, and I knew exactly what organization I wanted to do it with: the YMCA, of course! I decided to try something new, so I volunteered in the Whitby Garden Employment Centre. The experience was challenging; I remember sitting in a workshop with young adults, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. But my diversity of experience turned out to be a strength: I was able to pull from my past learnings with other YMCA programs to find my voice and develop relationships of mutual respect. In the end, it was an amazing experience — I worked with youth and young adults in a whole new capacity, and I loved every minute of it.
I’m now in a new role as a behavior specialist with Y Day Camps. I couldn’t be more excited for this new opportunity, and for what lies ahead. I look forwarding to adding to my collection of happy memories. While each day is challenging and presents uncharted territory, I know that at the end of the summer I will look back on all of the experiences with a smile.
I’ll be at Pickering Petticoat Creek Day Camp this summer, living and discovering my dream one day at a time. Don’t hesitate; don’t doubt. Volunteer, work, and grow. I know you’ll find your home and your dream.
Working with young people can be challenging, but Patrick couldn’t imagine a more rewarding field of work. Thanks to his motivation for leadership opportunities and his desire to work with children and youth, he found a home as a volunteer, staff member, mentor, older brother, and friend at the YMCA. Here’s Patrick’s story:
In 2012, I began working as a supply staff in a YMCA Summer Day Camp. It was a role that changed the course of my life. I had originally planned to work with animals, but mentoring youth and children at the Y opened me up to a whole world of joy and challenges. I loved getting to provide kids with new experiences, and my hard work paid off — I was asked to become a team lead and given more responsibility! After that, I knew the sky was the limit and my journey at the Y was far from over.
Throughout the course of my career at the Y, I have worked with Camps and Child Care as a counselor, integration coordinator, and camp director. These experiences convinced me that helping young people was my calling. But something hadn’t quite fallen into place. I was torn between studying Early Childhood Education or Social Service Work. Making a decision like that is never easy, and if I had sat at home just thinking about it, I probably never would have made up my mind. But because I was getting hands-on experience, I was able to make an informed decision based on my own knowledge of my skills, passions, and strengths.
My experience taught me that I didn’t want to have to choose between working with youth or children. I wanted to do both! So I decided to enter a social work program, which gave me that flexibility. There, I was required to complete a hands-on placement, and I knew exactly what organization I wanted to do it with: the YMCA, of course! I decided to try something new, so I volunteered in the Whitby Garden Employment Centre. The experience was challenging; I remember sitting in a workshop with young adults, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. But my diversity of experience turned out to be a strength: I was able to pull from my past learnings with other YMCA programs to find my voice and develop relationships of mutual respect. In the end, it was an amazing experience — I worked with youth and young adults in a whole new capacity, and I loved every minute of it.
I’m now in a new role as a behavior specialist with Y Day Camps. I couldn’t be more excited for this new opportunity, and for what lies ahead. I look forwarding to adding to my collection of happy memories. While each day is challenging and presents uncharted territory, I know that at the end of the summer I will look back on all of the experiences with a smile.
I’ll be at Pickering Petticoat Creek Day Camp this summer, living and discovering my dream one day at a time. Don’t hesitate; don’t doubt. Volunteer, work, and grow. I know you’ll find your home and your dream.
