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reflections I started as a freshman at Rocking the Boat because it interested me so much. Rocking the Boat is a boat building program, but it taught me so much more than that purpose. For example, it taught me math and science. (Once I got into the program, my grades went from a 65 to 80s. Amazing, huh!) It helped me to gather my thoughts more, to put them on paper. I also matured at Rocking the Boat. The major thing it taught me and I'm still learning are people skills, for example, how to speak to people more clearly and with confidence. -Elsie Gonzalez, Boatbuilding Program Assistant, age 18 Job Skills is helping us to the next step in life. I like what I do at Rocking the Boat, I'm good at it and I have fun with everything that we do here and other places. Since I have been doing Rocking the Boat, they made me see things different. I really have changed for the better thanks to RTB. -Stephanie Rivera, Boatbuilding Job Skills Apprentice, age 18 "Before Rocking the Boat, I would say I was pretty much a loner. This program has helped me to open my mind and soul. I meet people here that I would have never talked to, but most of all I made true friends. It's strange how it took me only four months to create a friendship with the staff, and it took me a year to create good friendships at my school. In a really big way this program helped me to achieve in finding my strength and my true passion. I wouldn't trade Rocking the Boat for the world." -Venus Gonzalez, first year student, age 18 "Rocking the Boat has been more than a place for me to work, it has been a place where I feel comfortable with the Staff, and its youth. Working with Adam and my crew has given me the opportunity to improve my skills in every aspect. The skills that are learned here are skills that will go on in you for your entire life. In my case, Rocking the Boat is preparing me for my future work place at the South Street Seaport with the Harbor School. There I will assist the boatbuilder. This is a big step for me and I’m glad to be getting the training from Rocking the Boat." -Johann Ovalle, shop forman, age 20 "My former teacher Mr. Levy, who first introduced me to Rocking the Boat, says my face lights up when I talk about it. I never carry a mirror around with me, but I'm sure he's right. I am so thrilled to be in Rocking the Boat. I am a senior in high school now and this is perhaps the most accomplished I've ever felt." -Doris Lo, first year student, age 18 "Rocking the Boat has helped me tremendously in the area of film making. In the fall semester me and another photographer filmed a documentary short on Rocking the Boat, which happened to be my first film job. The film was shown on DCTV and then it was shown again at a film festival a couple of months later. Because of Rocking the Boat, I have found serious direction in my career choice in life and I will always be grateful." -John Furman, shop apprentice, age 18 Rocking the Boat is a place where I can get away from my annoying siblings. Personally, Rocking the Boat is home away from home. I travel from Brooklyn to the Bronx to go to Rocking the Boat and I enjoy it. And the staff is great. I really enjoyed the summer in on-water. I like the rowing and water testing. Now I'm in the boatbuilding at the shop and whenever I'm feeling sad the people of Rocking the Boat make me feel better. I think I'm going back to on-water in the summer. -Krystal Byrd Rocking the Boat is the best program I have ever participated in because it caters to the person instead of the work. The environment is so friendly and flexible yet it has a kind of unspoken natural order where spoken rules aren't really necessary to have a safe, respectful, and productive environment. Rocking the Boat also is actually successful at making people grow and develop while learning something unique. -Elliyaas Carter This weekend at Rocking the Boat we went on a trip to Clearpool. And on this trip we learned how to work together and how to come together. I did not know that many people in the boat shop, but now I know not only their names but what they like and how they feel. We also had the chance to name the new boat. I for myself found out more about what goes on in the boat shop and how they are using the on-water people to change the on-water program. And the fact that they are using the students to add things to the program makes the students come back for more. -Brittany Benjamin I personally think Rocking the Boat has brought out the best in me and I am really grateful for that. When I'm at Rocking the Boat I feel as if I'm in a safe haven. This weekend we all came up to Clearpool and it was cool. It was also astonishing to see how well the students and staff got along and worked together. Honestly I was trying to make up my mind to see whether or not I was going to come to the trip, I am happy that I came because I learned new things and me new people and personally I that it was the best. -Mercedes Khan Rocking the Boat is like hanging out with childhood friends; people you learned to learn with, other that you've had summer vacation style experiences with. Even Adam is one of the students. We're all growing together and learning at the same time: responsibilities, respect, friendship (measurements: how to build a boat), etc. Our boats are like tree houses, old memories that we gather around, but these tree houses we renew, and make pretty, tree houses that we will never grow out of. -Tracy Jonsson Rocking the Boat is the greatest thing to have happened to me in a really long time. Through this organization I've not only learned a lot academically, I've learned a lot about myself. However, that is not what I appreciate most about Rocking the Boat. The thing that keeps me coming back is that RTB allows me and even presents opportunities for me to stray off the beaten path. It enables me to do things that are completely unorthodox. This is why I love RTB. It is helping to shape me into the unique person that I am and introducing me to people and situations that are equally unique. -Melissa Cruz, apprentice, age 16, William Howard Taft High School What I love most about Rocking the Boat is the reaction I get from people when I tell them about it. Not only is it a wonderful program and an excellent prospect for kids, it's also a unique way of opening our eyes to the different opportunities available to us. When people hear about the program and all the wonderful things we do, they are amazed, intrigued and, on top of all this, delighted. -Melissa Cruz, apprentice, age 16, William Howard Taft High School We need to help the Bronx River because we were the ones who polluted it. We were the ones throwing garbage in the River. We were the ones not caring about the Bronx River . We were the ones who let the government construct factories, bridges, and other harmful things that affected our precious pearl. Since we are the ones to blame, we should be the ones to help. There are organizations like Rocking the Boat that help us do this. We have planted Spartina on the river's shores to provide a more healthy environment for the animals that habitate the river. We have cleaned the river to make it look beautiful, and if we could do that, imagine all the things we could do. -Sonia Alphonso, apprentice, age 17, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School Watching as the waves move you up and down -Lauren Collado, student, age 14, Hostos-Lincoln Academy Maurisa Hunt's Summer in the On-Water Program:During the summer of 2003 I got offered my first real job at Rocking The Boat . I was assigned to the Habitat and Monitoring Group which was run by Jim, Addy, and Kimberlin. The first day both groups, the boat building and habitat-monitoring group, meet up at the shop to introduce ourselves to each other. After that we set out to our work location, which was next to the Bronx River and an old cement plant. There, Jim gave a important speech about safety and other things that would be required and expected from us. I never really had much interest in boats but over a few days I began to learn a lot about them and also began to love the boats we had, and even admired the fact that they were built by teenagers my age. The one thing I couldn't wait to do was go out on the boat and learn how to row. A lot us who were new students were a bit worried about the boat tipping over, so myself and others bundled up in Jim's boat because he was a certified lifeguard. We then learned about some of the plants and marine life in the water and how to check the pH of the water, measure the depth and other things to keep record of any changes that may happen. We worked with the parks department to help plant spartina plants to help the river. They were dedicated like many of us to clean up the river so maybe someday we will be able to swim in it. Many days we also had guests who were organizations just like us who also work to help preserve the river. I also love sharing the information I learned with others and stressing the importance of not polluting our rivers. During my time there we had two camping trips the first one was to the Catskills which gave us an idea of how camping is. We took a walk through a stream which contains fish and other creatures, and it was fun because there I learned to set up tents. The next camping trip was to the Adirondacks , which was a more intense camping. There were no showers like in the Catskills; everything we needed was on our back. One night a bear got some of our food but it was mostly snacks and we had enough food to last us till our last day of camping. We cooked before dark, pumped our water from the river, and slept in our tents. Each day we hiked for a least 2 miles to our next campsite. We also climbed Mount Marcy which is the highest peak in New York State . I enjoyed the trip a lot and I can't wait to go camping again even though when we were leaving I never felt so happy to see a car and a McDonald's. Unfortunately when we were coming back in the city it was the day of the blackout but it didn't bother me because I was already use to the flashlight as our only source of light. Next summer I hope to try the boatbuilding group to see how it is. Overall I enjoyed my time there, meeting new people and learning a lot and also getting a New York State Boating Safety Certificate. |
