Hello Peers,
My name is Alyssa and I am decided to apply for the certification program after completing my first mentor year with Pongo at a service site in Seattle, WA. During this experience, I discovered a passion and desire to advocate and encourage court-involved youth and help share their stories. I also recently graduated from university in Seattle with a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics: Law and a minor in Poetry. I look forward to pulling from my experience volunteering with Pongo as a mentor and my degree to continue doing juvenile criminal justice work and sharing the magic of Pongo in Brisbane, Australia, where I will be relocating to in January 2026. The standards for juvenile detention there are very poor and the detention centers and legal support for youth are severely lacking. At this time I would like to conduct a Pongo project in coordination with a youth advocacy center in Brisbane and/or at a detention center there. I look forward to hearing Pongo stories and missions from you in this chat!
