Brookyln Boatworks Boatcast: Student Stories

"Never quit on your goals."

In this episode Randy, our BKBW alum from GUGS Jamaica shares what he's learned about art, design, and resilience. He talks about being in Boatworks both in-person and online. He also discusses his experiences winning a coding competition, 3D modeling with Tinkercad, and his process of learning and perfecting skills. A great listen for all you secret dreamers trying to build up your craft and confidence and meet your goals!

"I wish more people knew about how much change one person can make."

Odysseas, a BKBW alum from MS88 & participant in our Water Resources Art and Poetry competition group shares his perspective on sailing, politics, and imaginary systems. Whether it's describing the origins of his name, sharing tips for dealing with bullies at school, or discussing his dreams for the future, one thing's for sure: this episode is full of adventure and hope.

2020 was an eventful year. It's hard to keep track of all the things that happened. And while there will always be big unknowns in our lives and communities, now, almost a year after lockdown went into effect in New York, we reflect on what the past year has brought.

For this episode, we interviewed two of our fearless leaders, who spent much of the last year steering the Boatworks ship through the waters of change. You'll hear Shifa talking to Executive Director Marjorie and Program Manager Laura about their personal journeys with the organization, the changes and challenges that came up last year, and what Brooklyn Boatworks looks like today.

"I see it as a moment of hope, and more importantly a moment of truth."

Kiara, a BKBW alum & instructor and a college-bound high school senior, shares her reflections on the eve of Inauguration Day 2021. This year has been tense to say the least - Kiara shares her experience and perspective on the current moment, the past, and her hopes for the future.

Kiara has participated in a BKBW boat build at Columbia Secondary School, a 7-day sail-training alumni trip aboard the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, and led new BKBW community members through their first boat build as an assistant instructor in the classroom. 

Michael is a Brooklyn Boatworks alum who has stayed involved with Boatworks via sailing trips, storytelling workshops and various other activities. He is passionate about being a community advocate and making sure that resources like Boatworks are available to everyone.

In this episode, I got to talk with Michael about some of the most meaningful parts of his life. As Rosa puts it, we discussed “everything from quarantine to sailing to the meaning of life.”

What are you doing for the holidays? Even more importantly, what are you eating? In this episode BKBW instructor Shifa Quraeshi interviews our student Esther about her holiday traditions, 2020 life changes, and favorite holiday foods. Her mouth-watering descriptions of making tamales with her mother made this podcast an instant classic for our food-loving podcast crew.

This episode was recorded on November 19th 2020.

Esther is one of our star students from Growing Up Green Middle School in Long Island City - she's currently participating in BKBW programming through her school (we've just started using 3D modeling software in their class) and just completed BKBW's Fall Story Studio Lab 2020. We look forward to continue to working together, telling more stories and building more boats!

What are young people thinking about on Election Day this year? Listen in as two BKBW alum speak with one another and BKBW instructor Shifa Quraeshi, about their thoughts on this historic moment in time.

This episode was recorded on Election Day 2020. 

Both Emma & Fotini are BKBW alumni from Growing Up Green Middle School in Long Island City - they continue to be active participants in BKBW programming including virtual programming through their school as well as BKBW's virtual Leadership Development Program in Summer 2020. We look forward to continue to build together with these powerful friends!

Tune in to hear from Jordan & Kevin, two Boatworks alum, as they talk about family, college, school & sports, COVID-19, and their hopes & concerns for the future.

Jordan is heading to college as a freshman this Fall and Kevin is a high school student at Winston Prep. Both Kevin and Jordan built an optimist dinghy with BKBW as middle school students. In high school they completed a 7-day sail-training voyage on the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry (pictured above), participated in a regatta at Oakcliff Sailing Center, and worked with younger Brooklyn Boatworks students at the waterfront and on the water as BKBW waterfront interns and safety kayakers. In 2019, Jordan participated in the NY Architect's Regatta with naval architects from Persak & Wurmfeld where his team took first place, completed a Basic Sailing Course with TASCA, and was honored as a Young Leader by Spark Youth NYC. We are looking forward to seeing both Kevin & Jordan back on the water in the future.

Two BKBW alumni interview one another on this Boatcast episode. Karla & Jasmine both graduated from MS 88 this past June. We learn more about their personal stories, their perspective on current events, and their advice and hopes for the future. Karla reminds us that even the tiniest good action can lead to much bigger things, and Jasmine reminds us of the importance of not becoming overwhelmed by the digital world.

Karla is a past participant of the Billion Oyster Dory build with BKBW, Sunset Spark, and Billion Oyster Project; as well as an optimist pram build at MS 88. Jasmine is also an opti builder and current participant of BKBW's virtual Leadership Development Program. Both Karla and Jasmine are past participants in BKBW's summer sailing program in Brookyln Bridge Park and completed a 5-day seafaring and sail-training trip by Tall Ships Maine with other BKBW alumni aboard the Schooner Harvey Gamage in Summer 2019.

In this episode, Stefan shares his thoughts on shifting to distance learning, how to manage feelings of stress, and his hopes for a future career in science. Stefan says, "If you feel stressed, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths... remember, this quarantine isn't going to last forever."

In this episode, Oliver shares his sense of humor, advice and his Boatworks memories - including what it was like to be Captain of the Day and a memorable classroom visit from NYC's Department of City Planning.

In the episode, Jack and BKBW instructor Chloe talk about looking forward to being with friends again and how to set yourself up for success with school, and life, from home. Jack's Boatworks takeaway? “Patience: it’s not as easy as it looks, you don’t get it on the first try.”

In this episode, Ryan shares how he and his friends continue to help each other with school work now that learning happens online, and his plans to continue building in the future.  He and Rosa talk about moving from building with Legos to building a boat to maybe even buildings and architecture. Ryan shares the role creativity plays in his process: "I want to work more on drawing and my imagination because you have to have an imagination to put to a picture before you can build it."

In this episode, Siriman shares the things he's grateful for and his excitement about the BKBW Graduation Celebration. One piece of advice he has during this time? "Read books!"

In this episode, Alyssa, a current BKBW instructor and former BKBW student, talks to Executive Director Marjorie about what the program has meant to her as both a student and an instructor. She gives us all advice on how to persevere and how to plan for our dreams: "Don't be afraid to see which ones come true!"

In this episode, Valerie tells us about spending time with her baby sister, who's just learning how to walk, and planting tomatoes, celery, garlic, and pepper in her garden. Her motto on schoolwork? "If I just think positive, I'll be able to get through my classwork without being bored."

In this bilingual episode, instructors Rosa and Cristian speak with Fernando about doing things that make him happy: making paper planes, playing video games and baking. He tells them that even though "we didn't finish the boat, we do what we can do."

In this episode, Immaculate shares with us how she's staying in touch with friends and family (Snapchat!) and how she perseveres when online school work gets hard: "I take a deep breath.. I breath out slowly and then I tell myself 'Don't beat yourself up about it.'" 

In this episode, Brielle tells us how she's been creative at home and what we can do to stay positive: “It’s really more fun to do things with other people, maybe meet up with your friends virtually, do art projects, just do things outside of staring at a screen.”

In this episode, Kwamee tells us how he's staying positive and shares some of the hands on learning he's been doing from home. His advice to everyone who's trying something new and figuring out how to learn from home? “Keep trying, and if you mess up call for help!"