We are very excited to welcome Shukri Bana to our Board of Directors! Shukri has been with us since the fall as a program intern. We have absolutely loved having her bright and sparkly personality light up the CYC’s programs the last few months, and look forward to working with her in this new role. Read more from her below.
Hi, I’m Shukri Bana! I’m a student at Grand Valley and the new junior board member at the Creative Youth Center. I began working with the CYC last fall as an intern in the Afterschool Adventure program, and I loved how seriously we took silliness and humor so much that I stayed on as a volunteer. I’ve become increasingly aware of how our values of voice, storytelling, and imagination formed a mutually beneficial relationship between the students and young adult volunteers: through our one-on-one relationships, we’ve used our stories and visions to help students amplify their own. As part of the board, I hope to expand and strengthen the connection between college students and the youth we serve to inspire adventurers, younger and older, to embrace the diversity in their lived experiences and stories. Through sharing diverse stories, fiction or not, I know our students will be empowered to continue celebrating all aspects of their stories and identities.