From dedicated volunteer to SAVE staff member… Meet Zaki!
In July, SAVE was lucky enough to hire Zaki as a Program Facilitator. Zaki has been a volunteer mentor with SAVE at the Creighton Academic Mentoring Program sessions for FOUR years! His friends extended the invite for him to come volunteer at that first session, and the rest is history. He has been at almost every Creighton session since, which amounts to almost 70 sessions!
Throughout his four years of volunteering, he has seen hundreds of kids go through AMP, many of which he has developed inspiring bonds with.
Zaki actually attended many of our partnered schools, including Norris Elementary, Central Middle, and Millard West in Millard Public Schools. Now, he studies Psychology and Business at Creighton University. This connection and experience in our partnered schools allows Zaki to be able to work with our students from a place of understanding and build a foundation of commonalities, all of which are necessary in a successful mentorship.
As a staff member, Zaki’s primary role is to facilitate our Follow Through Program, a program designed for past AMP students who are now in middle and high school. He travels to various middle and high schools bi-weekly to meet with students for grade & accountability checks, resource provision, goal setting, mentorship, and individualized support. He still attends Academic Mentoring Program sessions, too!
Many of the students he works with now are students he used to mentor during AMP sessions! When asked why he continues to be involved with SAVE, he responded, “There are specific kids that I want to show up for - I have a friendship with a lot of these kids and I want to make sure they have what they need and that they are doing okay. I had a lot of encouragement growing up, and sometimes they just need someone to pay attention to them and to encourage them. The crazy thing is that the kids help me as much as I help them.”
Zaki has truly made a difference in the lives of MANY of the youth we serve, and we are so lucky to have him on our team!
We strive to make our programs full-circle and comprehensive by involving those who are within the communities we serve and recruiting those who have proven an investment in long-term connections with our students.
Interested in getting involved? Zaki’s advice to you is, “Be an open person. When you’re dealing with kids, you never know how they're going to be feeling or what they’re going through. You have to be intuitive to know what they may need or may need to hear…be attentive to each child. Connect to them as individuals, not just a group of kids, and understand each one of them as an individual. Don’t pay attention to just their actions, but try to understand their thought process too.”
Thank you, Zaki, for all of the impact you’ve had on youth in our community!
If you’re interested in volunteering with us, head over to our ‘Volunteer’ tab to fill out the interest form.
