William; Member of Mount Albert Crew (2021)

Kia ora! My name is William and I have been a member of the Mount Albert YMCA Raise Up Crew for around two years now, having joined in mid-2019. Unfortunately, I am coming to the end of my time with Raise Up as I am moving on to University study next year. However, that means I can reflect on my time here, and it has been a blast! I joined Raise Up with a lot of uncertainty - a close friend of mine had been a member of the crew for a while and he sold it to me, but I didn't know what to expect. Would it be too much work? Would it be boring? Would it be awkward? These are all doubts most people have when they sign up for anything, and in no time I was reassured that Raise Up is none of those things. Thanks to the amazing group of people I have been with, Raise Up has been so much fun and all the service and community work we have done has been gratifying and enjoyable. In all honesty, 2019 was a year where I grew and changed a lot as a person - I gained a lot of confidence and Raise Up really helped me with this. What I love about Raise Up is that we are platformed to give back to the community and create an awesome space for young people, but also get to work together with a team of friends that you get to know really well. Some events I have enjoyed have been: the Mount Albert Cultural Festival, both 2019 and 2020 Raise Up New Found Sound, the 2020 Raise Up Camp and of course the 2020 Graduation night. I couldn't pick one favourite memory but would have to highlight that the many Wednesday afternoon meetings I have spent drawing a healthy balance between productive contributions to the crew and slightly less productive chats with crewmates have been a really awesome addition to my week.