Our Stories

Kiana

Jan 20 2021
While the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project regularly serves young people ages 18 and under, many people might not be aware that we also work with recent high school graduates. Through ZYEP, youth have the opportunity to serve as summer camp counselors — and sometimes, that journey with our nonprofit youth organization continues long after camp has ended. Kiana Etsate-Gashytewa, 22, first worked with ZYEP in 2016. She had just graduated from high school, and she was spending the summer months in...

Ethan

Feb 2 2016
Ethan Yatsattie was a camp counselor for ZYEP, and reported that the camp experience helped him feel more confident in his role as a leader, become more responsible, and understand his personal identity as an important part of his leadership. I feel like I learned a lot this summer. The biggest take-away for me was the camaraderie and sense of trust that resulted from our retreats and allowed us to work better together as counselors." Thanks to the summer camp experience, Ethan now feels like...

Kelly

Jan 1 2016
As a teenager filling out my first job application for ZYEP, I thought it would be a fun way to spend my summer. Little did I know at the time that the experiences I would have with ZYEP would shape the person I am today. ZYEP has impacted my life through countless ways from helping me lead to helping me pursue my educational goals. ZYEP gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone and to help serve others. Where It All Started The foundation of my educational career started at ZYEP....

Kaitlin

Aug 16 2015
Kaitlin is pictured above (right) and shares her story here: My name is Kaitlin Jade Romancito. I'm 11 years old. My clans are Crow and Child of a Bear. My parents are Alvin and Rolanda Romancito. How I Stay Active I joined sports for my school and my community. I played basketball for both Dowa Yalanne Elementary and ZYEP. The two basketball seasons were great and fun. I played soccer for ZYEP for 4 years. We went on trips to Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and San Felipe Pueblo for tournaments and...

Kaleia

Aug 16 2015
Kaleia is pictured above to the left. What follows is a little bit of her story, in her own words. I am excited to have this opportunity to share the ways I am active in my community. In school I took part in the Dowa Yalanne Elementary Student Council Leadership Academy. I was President of Dowa Yalanne Elementary. The student council helped our school and community because it showed that as a team we can change our school and community together. We helped organize special events like a...

Our Stories

Ethan
Kelly
Kiana
While the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project regularly serves young people ages 18 and under, many people might not be aware that we also work with recent high school graduates....
More Stories >
Help Us Change Lives Our programs transform children’s lives by giving them confidence, life skills, pride in their culture, and mentors to look up to.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Zuni Youth Enrichment Project
PO Box 447, Zuni, NM 87327

   505.782.8000

   info@zyep.org