A Tale of Two Leaders: The Journey from PLAY Program Participant to University and Beyond

At Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC), a Right To Play partner since 2016, children and youth participate in programming ranging from sports to cooking to beading, often alongside community members of all ages. The space is welcoming and buzzes with a positive energy.

“My first interaction with the Centre was when I was 8 years old; I came for the summer camps. Me and my sister would come here each and every summer until we aged out” says Zach, 18, Youth Council Coordinator at HRIC and former Junior Community Mentor for the Right To Play Program.

Maia, 19, a current Right To Play Junior Community Mentor, found the Centre later, when she was a teenager: “I was really sick when I was 16 and I was in hospital for a little bit [...] one of the social workers at [the hospital] referred me over here and then I got involved with the program.”

Becoming Junior Community Mentors

Both Zach and Maia began their journey with Right To Play as PLAY Program participants, initially introduced to the program through former Community Mentor (CM), Sebastian.

Zach describes the impact teachers and coaches had on him when he was younger, explaining, “I would go to the summer camps not only for the other youth my age, but for the summer camp counselors as well. So seeing Sebastian, how he was with other camp counsellors and how he was with youth, especially with me… I want to become a positive impact for youth in the community like that. I know that growing up, I needed that, so I want to be able to do that for other youth in the community.”

When the Junior CM role opened up, Sebastian encouraged Zach to apply. “He described it as doing exactly what [he was] doing, only junior”, laughs Zach, “I told him I was up for it.”

Maia says of her journey to the Junior CM role: “I definitely struggled as a youth… I made a lot of poor choices. Then I got involved with the program which gave me the space to finally realize that I wanted to give back to the community. So Right To Play was definitely a positive influence I didn’t have […] and it was really important for me to have that. I really appreciate it because it made me want to do what [Sebastian] was doing, for sure.”

Maia is also grateful for the space the Right To Play Program created “to explore more cultural aspects […] as a Junior CM or even when I was a program participant, there was beading and stuff that I enjoy and could share with others.”

Connecting With Youth

Both Maia and Zach say that being young leaders – often not much older or even sometimes the same age as the youth program participants – has always been a positive thing. It was “not a problem at all”, Zach says of gaining participants’ respect.

“I was able to connect with a lot of the girls who come to program,” says Maia, “I feel like, being close in age, they feel more comfortable sharing how they’re feeling, where they need support, or what they’re going through, and then [by] being around their age I can also give them advice that is not outdated.”

Zach agrees, “Yeah the youth are not shy at all, like if they have something to say or they need advice, they’ll come straight to us […] it’s just providing that comfort aspect, you know, so they have a shoulder to lean on.”

Both youth leaders emphasize the impact their involvement with Right To Play has had on their personal growth.

Says Maia, “coming to program and having someone be like, ‘Hey, you don’t need to do these types of things to have fun, and it’s possible you’re not doing these things to have fun but [actually] because you’re struggling’, and having that recognized, that was really important to me. I feel like the program has taken me through all my growing pains… it really gave me space to become a mature-ish, responsible-ish adult. It also gave me [an idea] of what I wanted to do with my future, so it has affected almost every aspect of my life. I got my first job through Right To Play and that has led to this position […] and I’m really thankful for that.”

Zach agrees, “yeah, even being around the youth and stuff, at first I was – I don’t want to say “unconscious” about what I was saying, but being around the youth you have to be really mindful […] now I’m more mindful about what I say around the youth and how it’s said, because I feel like words are very, very impactful and meaningful.” Maia chimes in, “You’ve even grown a lot over the summer, I’ve noticed!”

Education & Community Connection

When thinking about their futures, education and community connection is at the core of what both Zach and Maia hope to achieve.

Maia is currently an Indigenous Studies major at McMaster University, “which is crazy… I never even thought I was going to go to university – also have to thank Right To Play for that” she says with a laugh.

Maia, whose father is Tunumiit from Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) and whose mother immigrated to Canada from Mauritius, shares, “my family was very heavily affected by intergenerational trauma on my Dad’s side, so I grew up witnessing that, and I really wanted to help the community to alleviate those things. Something I want to focus on with my studies is doing a land-based and culture-based addiction treatment program with an urban or Arctic focus. Because we have land-based focused programs on reserve and in more remote communities, nothing is really going on for urban [Inuit] in southern Ontario or in my home community.”

Community work has become a very important part of Maia’s life. She explains, “my family relied on the community here until they were set up on their feet […] and I found that [support] here at the HRIC – it’s kind of, almost, I feel like I have to give back, I have to support others – because if they weren’t around, where would I be now, you know?”

Promoting Youth Voice & Fostering Safe Spaces

Zach’s passion for mentorship has strongly shaped his career plans. A member of Six Nations Mohawk Turtle Clan, Zach grew up in Hamilton, but most of his family lives on reserve.

About to start his first year at McMaster, he shares, “Growing up, in middle school my teachers were really, really good to me. Just, even the lifestyle my teachers were living… I feel like becoming a teacher is such a family-oriented job. Right? Because you’re with the youth and you teach them, impact youth, and then go straight home to your family. So seeing that, seeing how good they were to me - I wanted to pursue that. I thought; this is what I want to do […] I know that I want to become a middle school teacher, and there’s just no Plan B. Like, people ask me, ‘Oh, what will you do if you don’t become a teacher?’ and I just tell them, ‘I’m gonna become one’.”

Zach and Maia are passionate about promoting youth voice and fostering safe spaces for Indigenous youth to learn, play, and grow, something they each found at HRIC and in the PLAY Program.

Maia sums it up well: “The youth are so powerful, and I feel like we’re not given the credit that we deserve for the abilities that we have. Youth can honestly move the world if we really put our minds to it and are on the right path, and that’s what Right To Play is doing, I think.”

Editor's note: Maia remained in the Junior CM role for HRIC's Right To Play program until December 2023, and would like to thank all of the staff at HRIC and RTP for their support.