Juan Padilla

Creative and responsible youth activity facilitator with experience working with children in educational, artistic, and recreational settings. Skilled in leading group activities, music instruction, dramatization, and creative projects. Known for empathy, adaptability, and creating safe, engaging environments for children.

During my adolescence, I've worked on multiple artistic, learning, and play projects with children, both formal and community-based. My professional experience in working with children has essentially been through drama/theatre performance. I worked in the project 'Mediaciones Teatralizadas en el Centro de Arte Contemporáneo,' in the historic center of Quito. To that end, I acted as 'El Doctor Loco,' who was our eccentric character and interacted directly with children. The audience needed to be part of it, and more than anything else, I had to ensure everyone who wished to engage with me experienced it. I used this to help in cultivating an enjoyable, interactive, safe space for everyone, including the kids who were always excited to see my character show up., Apart from my professional experience, I have also engaged in experiences working with children at the educational and community level. Most importantly, I was an educational 'Monitor' in the Yaku Water Museum where I worked with groups of 6- to 11-year-olds in educational and recreational activities. In the course of those activities, I participated in art workshops; educational games; some water cycle science activities; and group dynamics. This wasn't a job, but the experience taught me a lot of responsibility, guidance, and how to protect the children., I've always taught kids about music, too. I trained kids in my community on guitar, learning to play traditional music genres, such as San Juanitos, Boleros, Valse, and Pasillos. Children learned to regulate their emotions and sharpen their focus with music. This is something I am still doing with children in my family today. I have also arranged activities like children's parties and basic math workshops. In these spaces I proved that I can relate with kids, teach within their own context and tailor teaching styles to each child's particular learning pace, and establish a trustful, motivating, supportive place where they feel empowered., I have learned empathy, patience, clear communication, and positive leadership skills as my core values from all of those experiences and have the ability to build effective relationships with children, which are all necessary aspects of a camp and a good leader that I would apply towards the children working within my camp setting.