Dondo Zakheim
This month’s installment of Beam’s Staff Spotlight series features our Beam Camp’s co-Director, Dondo Zakheim. Dondo has worked at Beam Center, Beam Camp’s umbrella organization, for 7 years during which they facilitated past summer day camp programs, in-school projects, and more. In addition to all of their work at Beam, Dondo is a full time student at The New School, earning their Bachelors degree in Urban Studies.
When asked why they have continued to work at Beam Center for the past seven years, Dondo states, “Beam is something I could have benefitted from as a kid, and I think education should exist in this way where it’s hyper responsive to the interest of the people who are learning and radically trusting and empowering and really caring and consistent…Beam can be a constant if people want to continue to utilize it.”
Prior to summer 2021, Dondo joined the Beam Camp team and assisted with preparing for our first post-pandemic session. Since 2021, they lead Beam Camp with Co-Director Pearl Cohen, where they help recruit campers, hire and train staff, and support staff while at Camp during the summer.
Dondo says Beam Camp is a place for young people to “experience themselves in a different context. They get to experience different aspects of themselves or have different aspects of their identity have more space to emerge or be discovered based off of new people that are around them and the conditions and the environment around them.” Dondo also said that Beam Camp is a place to practice community together and a place where youth work hard. Dondo says their favorite moments at Beam Camp are those when they’re able to spend time with campers and get to know them more. Due to their role managing and supporting staff, Dondo isn’t able to spend a lot of time with campers but finds joy in the moments they get to share.
Speaking about what makes Beam special, Dondo talks about the creativity and expression that happen when youth build a project together. Here at Beam they aren’t just following a fully-determined plan; instead, youth are able to make their own tweaks and make the project their own. Dondo states, “It’s not just a static lesson plan that isn’t really alive that kind of gets repeated multiple times by people - it actually comes alive through the project designer or the facilitator and then it comes alive again through the perspective of the participants.” Explaining more about the project and Camp’s approach to youth input, Dondo says, “It’s truly a collaboration in that a lot of planning goes into it…but that planning makes it possible for young people to feel comfortable to take creative risks. It helps develop a sort of trust because we can be intentional about it. We are giving away responsibility or authority.”
Sharing a message for anyone interested in going to camp, Dondo says “Camp is a space where when you work really hard you can see the impact of that hard work right away, and also you can have a voice and have a say in experience as well. We're not just curating it for you, but if something isn’t happening for you, you can have the agency to advocate and voice what you think needs to be different and the adults will listen to you. Even if it’s something silly and small, because it’s important for young people to realize their words do have an impact.”
We are extremely grateful for all of Dondo’s hard work! Join us in celebrating their work by leaving a comment below or sharing your favorite memory of working with Dondo.
