Name: Goldust Afriyie

Hometown: Eastham, London

School Serving: Lauriston Primary School, London

What made you decide to join City Year?

There were so many reasons why I was attracted to the City Year program, but what made me want to join was the fact that, through me, a child's life can be transformed with a simple act of showing care and involvement in their life.

Why are you committed to serving with City Year?

I am committed to serving with City Year because children are the future leaders.  If we want to live in a safer, happier and well balanced society then we have to train and/or support a child in the right way to grow. So for me, taking part in City Year is an investment into how I want to see society in the future. I'm committed to the children who are the future.

How do you know you are making a difference?

I know I am making a difference by the way the children at school get excited when they see me and my teammates. Our mere presence makes them want to do better. They like the cheer on, the extra well done, they want you to see their improvement so they show you their work or a golden ticket issued to them. I am part of that little change because they want me to see when they are commended to their work. To me that shows that they recognize my time with them as part of the change they are making to their time at school.

What does it mean to you to have Bain Capital sponsor your team?

It means a lot to me. Bain Capital makes it possible for us to be there to inspire. Without them I wouldn't be in the school serving as a leader for the children to emulate. They also give their time to mentor us for our next step in life and to me that is crucial. My mentor and I get along so well and he has helped shaped my future aspirations and I can't wait to take on the world after City Year.

Please share a Starfish Story.

My starfish story involves one of the children on my focus list who has low attendance. This was not an academic issue and it isn't something that has one particular solution. I studied her for a while and realized that all she needed was recognition when she made an effort to attend school. So from time to time I would say words to her like "good to see you today" and "that was kind of you to help your friend out today", "just imagine if you were not in school ", "today you really participated well in sports, coming to school is always a mixture of learning and having fun". Since I've started doing that, she has not missed school and she always makes sure she reports her presence to me daily.