Boatbuilding helps you develop understanding of yourself. You gain confidence, become motivated, and learn there is “very little you can’t do” in life, Mr. Castro says. He recalls one student who had been referred to the Wooden Boat Factory because he needed a science credit. The student signed up for the environmental program at the organization, but he soon asked to join the boatbuilding program. “We had to kick him out every night,” Mr. Cas- tro says, because he enjoyed working with the wood. When the student wasn’t building boats, he learned how to build boxes and other objects. After high school, he received a scholarship to attend a traditional boatbuilding program in Maine. He received his certificate, then went into the Army and became a tank mechanic. To participate at the Wooden Boat Factory, students must commit for a year. They must fill out an application and be interviewed. It does not cost anything. In fact, the students earn between $50 and $75 a month for participating. “Once you are in, it is not easy,” says Mr. Castro. The after-school program involves more than boatbuilding. The students participate in yoga and other programs to help them learn to focus and relieve stress. They also take part in group activities and games. When they are at the Wooden Boat Factory, they disconnect from their phones and other technology. He says the children learn to tap into their artistic talents. They learn to trust their hands and under- stand “what looks good and what doesn’t.” They also learn how to stick with a task and how to work with others. Because building a boat is never easy. —By Fit Flyer staff William Cramp Elementary School 11 Illustration by Esmeralda Rojas Torres, Whitehall Healthy Reporter