Sarayfah Bolling '11 is a people person. Helping others thrive and believing in them—that’s her jam.
She’s turned this passion into a career. One that enables her to help people every day through two roles—one at Callisto, the other at YouthBuild USA.
YouthBuild USA partners with young people (ages 16 to 24) who are disconnected from school and work. It helps them build skillsets and mindsets that lead to lifelong learning, livelihood and leadership.
“Being a child who grew up in a low-income home and community, I had first-hand experience seeing many of my peers fall through the cracks academically, by dropping out of school, through teen pregnancy, poverty or engaging in illegal activities,” said Bolling, who recently joined YouthBuild USA’s board of directors. “I saw that people in my community who experienced these challenges had very different life outcomes—homelessness, poverty, incarceration, even death.”
“Instead of being a bystander to the challenges my community was and is facing, I decided to use my voice, funds and privilege to empower young people,” she continued. “By connecting them with critical resources and programs, like YouthBuild USA, we can positively change their life outcomes through workforce development training and honing their hard and soft skills to make them more engaged, well-rounded people.”
At Callisto, Bolling is also helping people struggling with challenging situations.
Callisto is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use technology to empower survivors of sexual violence. It’s dedicated to addressing the issue of serial perpetration, with a targeted focus on serving higher education institutions.
As director of programs and strategic engagement at Callisto, Bolling works closely with colleges to support sexual assault awareness programming and campus-wide integration of Callisto Vault.
Callisto Vault is an encrypted platform that offers a safe way for survivors to connect with others harmed by the same perpetrator. The program provides confidential legal options, counseling services and offers a mechanism for survivors of serial perpetrators to connect, supporting the establishment of a pattern of predatory behavior.
“Finding a match in our system and learning that someone else has been harmed by the same perpetrator provides validation for many survivors that they’ve experienced a violation. Validation can kickstart the healing process,” Bolling said. “Additionally, when survivors are connected to each other, it can establish a pattern of evidence that has the potential to increase justice and accountability outcomes for perpetrators – ultimately reducing sexual assault on college campuses.”
“The work we do at Callisto is a game-changer for survivors,” she continued, adding that services are provided for free to anyone with an active .edu email address in the United States and its territories.
“Both Callisto and YouthBuild USA allow me to make an impact in the lives of young people. Going from being a teen to an adult is a critical time and often a defining one as we find ourselves and make decisions that determine our life trajectory,” Bolling said. “When we feel we have limited pathways, don’t believe in ourselves or encounter tremendous adversity, the decisions we make may lead us down a path that will have significant negative impacts.
“It is our responsibility to support young people and help them take advantage of all life’s possibilities. When we can change their self-perception and help them envision a different future, they can realize their full potential, despite the adversity they have faced.”
Bolling is grateful to have a career that aligns with her personal and professional passions.
“I want to make sure that the world future generations inherit is one that will allow them to flourish and be their best, and full selves, in whatever form or shape that takes for them,” Bolling said. “There is so much ill in the world, and this is my small way of using my power to lift up others.”