YES! Coordinator Katelyn Bocklund bids farewell to YES! as her last day was January 6th. We have been fortunate to have Katelyn as a part of our staff and wish her the best with her future adventures. Katelyn reflected on her time with YES! and shared the following:
As I think about the last couple years
serving as a YES! Coordinator and most recently as Communications Specialist, my mind is filled with great success stories: seeing the program expand statewide, becoming a finalist for the Bush Prize for Community Innovation, being involved in the grant-writing process that secured two McKnight Foundation grants, and more. The YES! Program has enriched so many young lives as well as my own. I can’t say enough great things about it, and I hope it will continue to grow and impact even more lives.
I’m so grateful for the opportunity that the YES! Program provided to me. I had the pleasure of working with thirteen teams and their coaches over the course of my two years with the program, and I was constantly impressed by the level of passion that each team and coach poured into their projects and community. It was their dedication that inspired me to seek out opportunities that would extend my impact in the environmental world. I was fortunate to find that opportunity with Great Plains Institute, where I was hired as a Program Assistant for the Bioeconomy and Transportation Programs. I’m excited for the new opportunities that lay ahead!
I want to extend a sincere thank you to everyone that I connected with while working for YES!: the Ney Nature Center staff and board for supporting the program as a partner, all of the individuals that hosted or presented at winter workshops, individuals that served as judges during the spring competition for the southern cohort, and everyone that provided resources to the YES! Teams to help them accomplish their goals of making their community a greener place to live. Last but not least, I want to call attention to the amazing program staff at YES! who make this program possible. Without a dedicated staff, the program would not be nearly as effective, and I enjoyed every minute of being part of that team.
While I will be serving a different venture, I look forward to hearing about all of the great things the YES! Program will accomplish in the coming years!
