Alumni Spotlight

Dawson Atkin (they/them)

Question: What was your MYL alumni year? (If you did not attend the conference, the year that you first volunteered!)  

Cayla's Response: 2016

Question: What high school did you go to? 

Cayla's Response: Gateway Regional High School

Question: If you went to/are currently attending college, where did/do you go and what did you major in?

Cayla's Response: University of Hartford '22, Major in Music Composition

Question: If you are currently employed, what is your job? 

Cayla's Response: I am an AmeriCorps volunteer! I serve as a Resident Teaching Artist through an organization called ArtistYear in Queens, NY where I teach music classes at a school that wouldn't otherwise have them.

Question: Why do/did you volunteer with MYL/MassSTAR?

Cayla's Response: I volunteer with MYL because the MassSTAR conference changed my life. I feel like it's important to me and incredibly satisfying to be able to pass that on to more and more delegates every year. And I also continue to volunteer because the people that make up MYL are all such wonderful, genuine, caring folks that I savor any opportunity to work with them.

Question: What makes the Foundation unique?

Cayla's Response: What makes MYL unique is the way it can stay with you throughout your life. For so many experiences I had in High School, I never thought about them again after graduating. But with MYL, I am able to participate in different ways even years after my conference. There is a real sense of belonging whenever I am able to come back.

Question: How would you describe the conference to somebody who hasn't/won't be able to experience it?

Cayla's Response: Seeing MassSTAR unfold is sort of unspeakably beautiful, even if you were a delegate in the past. Watching the delegates bond, blossom, and bloom over such a short period of time is a powerful reminder that the future lies in our young people.

Question: What is your favorite activity from the MassSTAR Conference?

Cayla's Response: My favorite activity is always the large group debrief, it's a beautiful, powerful, poetic way to tie up the conference and recap and reflect on our growth individually and as a group.

Question: What is your favorite MassSTAR cheer? 

Cayla's Response: Outstanding!


​Want to talk with Dawson? Contact them at dawson.atkin@massyouthleadership.org
Responses were collected February 2023