Youth Venture recently caught up with Konstantine, a high school senior and Best Buy @15 Winner, to talk about college, life as a Changemaker and taking his Venture to the a level.
YV: Konstantine, what’s up man, enjoying senior year?
Konstantine: Senior year has been great but the workload has been heavy. Applying for college takes a lot of time too. I am trying to find a good balance between the workload and my friends, many of whom I will not see much after this school year.
YV: How has your venture, Always Ready Kids, helped prepare you for college?
Konstantine: Always Ready Kids (ARK) has taught me about myself, and has taught me new skills. I have developed my leadership and collaboration skills. ARK has positively changed my life, in many ways. I will be taking all the lessons I learned through ARK to college with me.
YV: Since you launched in 2004, Always Ready Kids has raised awareness across 4 continents, led over 14,000 youth in service projects and raised $20,000 for disaster relief. Why is your Venture so effective?
Konstantine: Networking, persistence and passion are important to the success of ARK. Hard work is also an important element to its success.
YV: Recent studies suggest the average person is ill prepared for a disaster or in denial that they are at risk. How have you been successful in raising awareness for an issue not traditionally on most peoples’ radar?
Konstantine: This is a great question. Denial is the problem we have been trying to address all along. We have done some research on this topic and think the best way to change this culture is by going to youth. Generally, youth are open-minded and receptive to preparedness. It is like the buckle up campaign. For a while adults refused to buckle their seatbelts, but once young people got involved, and told the adults in the car to buckle up, the message was heard and culture changed.
YV: If you could take your Venture anywhere in the world, what location most needs your service?
Konstantine: The United States is a great place for ARK, and I would extend our work to all 50 states. We are a reactive society, thinking about preparedness mostly after a disaster strikes. ARK would like to change that by emphasizing the importance of being prepared always.
YV: Is your Venture prepared to continue in Lake Forest after you leave for college?
Konstantine: Although we are based in Lake Forest, ARK’s work extends beyond our local community. We are prepared to continue our work in Lake Forest and beyond while I am in college.
YV: How do you plan to remain a Changemaker in college?
Konstantine: I will be taking ARK with me to college. ARK will change during the time that I am a college student, hopefully expanding to many colleges, while retaining its base with younger students. I hope ARK’s preparedness message will extend to legislation and we will continue to be one of the leading advocacy groups for youth disaster preparedness.
YV: Konstantine, thanks for joining us and congratulations on the success of ARK.
Konstantine: I appreciate the support I have received from Youth Venture, including this opportunity to tell other Venturers about ARK. Thank you.
Want to learn more about Always Ready Kids? Visit the Always Ready Kids website.
Contributed by Youth Venture Associate Ethan Burton
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