A Kindred Student Takes His Baking Skills Home
Makaio has been part of Kindred for almost three years. In that time, he has shown tremendous growth and continues to impress us every year.
When he learned that we had to find a new program location, Makaio told me he did not want to have to go out to Long Island for programming. I am not sure why he picked Long Island, but I understood his very valid point. He wanted a program he could reach in his own community.
We were not able to stay in Brooklyn because of continued space challenges. Our training hub is now at Greenwich House in Manhattan. Makaio and his family have continued to support Kindred through that move, and that means a great deal to us.
A few weeks ago, his mother called with some exciting news. After our summer boot camp, Makaio decided he wanted to make pancakes from scratch at home.
At Kindred, we teach using "I Do, We Do, You Do." An instructor demonstrates, we work through it together, and then the student does it on their own. Makaio took that last step at home. The photos below show him making pancakes from scratch, independently, from start to finish.
No one asked Makaio to make pancakes at home. He did it out of his own self-determination, curiosity, and ambition. He is showing us the value of Kindred: the skills do not stay in our kitchen. Our students take them home and beyond.
It is also important for parents to make room for moments like this. Makaio's family did that. They gave him the space to try something on his own at home, and they shared it with us. When families support that kind of aspiration, the skills our students build at Kindred have somewhere to grow.
This is what rising together looks like.
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