Influencer Rashel Hawker

Interview November 2022

Rashel, could you share with us some information about your family life?
I was born in 1992 and came from a family of 3 siblings. I have two other brothers. I was raised by my mother Sheila Albertoe and my grandmother. My father lives in Holland and I do have contact with him but he wasn’t present when I grew up. My mother has four sisters and three of these sisters are schoolteachers and I was raised in the house of my grandmother. In my upbringing, my grandmother played an important role. When my mother started ‘Bos di Hubentut’ back in 1993, she dedicated a lot of her time to building up ‘Bos di Hubentut’, and in that my grandmother helped a lot. I grew up involved a lot with ‘Bos di Hubentut’ activities. But you can also say that I was raised by an extended family as all three sisters of my mother are schoolteachers. Together with my mother and grandmother, you can say that I was raised by an extended family of educators, as all of them played an important role in my upbringing.

Could you share something about any other aspect of your educational background and your experiences?
I attended the SKAIH VSBO, as my mother let us attend a school where Papiamentu was being taught. SKAIH has helped formed me a lot as this school enabled me to be who I can be and who I am. For example, I participated in a competition called ‘Arte di palabra’ where high schools compete with arts and poems. So I participated in the competition and wrote a short story with the title: ‘Mosa ta Papiamentu’. Mosa in papiamentu means beautiful lady. The clue was that “Our language Papiamentu” is beautiful. In this story, I explain how Papiamentu struggled and succeeded in the end. I participated and won the competition. That was a highlight from SKAIH. Other high lights related to my expressiveness was when a teacher from an American University that teaches papiamentu asked me permission to publish ‘Mosa ta Papiamentu’ in her book she was launching. I was proud of this teacher for publishing my story in her book. The next year I wrote Another story called ‘Shi Maria den Politika’. I became the first runner-up. SKAIH was a family of mine, I did an internship there and I still have excellent relationships with some of the teachers of those days. This school influenced me a lot.

After SKAIH I went to Eligia Martir to become a teachers-assistant. Influence by my three aunts, sort of framed my decisions in the beginning. I finished the 3 years education but started to doubt. I loved it but I was seriously questioning if I could be a teacher for the rest of my life dealing with children the whole day.

As I loved presenting poems, art etc, I considered going to Holland to study Social Cultural Education but never went to Holland. I ended up studying social work at the UoC. I was working at ‘Bos di Hubentut’ while I was also studying at the UoC to become a social worker, At the beginning This was not easy and at the time I considered stopping, but thanks to my aunt I graduated in 2015.

In my third year at UOC I did my internship at ‘Slachtofferhulp’. I was fascinated by that kind of work. They usually get involved to help a victims after the offense like shooting, domestic violence act and this was tough and it taught me a lot of things about myself. Although I was a trainee I was asked to run a piket which means that was available to deal with calls after normal office hours. I got a phone and a car and I was on call. Those were exciting moments, at first, I couldn’t even fall asleep when I was on call. But one of my mentors from ‘Slachterofferhulp’ gave me a valuable tip, that I never forgot. She told me: When they called you “it has already happened”. Your goal is to offer help and support to the victim, but if you come for one minute or more minutes it doesn’t matter. It has already happened. This has been a very helpful tip for me not only during those days but also in my life up to now. Conscious Discipline teaches you to “let it be”.

Another impactful thing that happened to me when I was studying at the UoC, was our field trip to Colombia. Those students that were selected to come along on this trip were chosen via a lottery system and they looked at your grade.

Even though my grade was not the difference maker, I apply and got the chance to go anyway, it was awesome to see how Columbia used the planning of physical infrastructure to influence social change. As the delegation consisted of students also from UoC ‘s technical faculty and our faculty, this was an amazing insightful experience.

In 2015 after I graduated I decided to stay at ‘Bos di Hubentut‘ and work as the project assistant for ‘Brigada di Seguridat i Formashon‘. I was involved for 10 years intensively in organizing camps, trainings for parents, dealing with the media, recruited youngsters etc. In 2017, I became project leader in ‘Brigada di Seguridat i Formashon’.

In my teenage years I was involved with another project ‘Kibrando e gritunan silensioso‘. A program against sexual abuse against children. I played in a drama named ‘Mara bo por muri’, I was the youngster in this play, that played numerous times in the neighborhoods, at schools, in Aruba, and Bonaire. This was helpful as I met a lot of youth and it taught me of a lot of situations that are happening. The goal was to create awareness on this subject matter and as I love acting, being part of this project that tries to impact our youth, as part of a much broader scale, was a very satisfying experience.

And as I went through all these different experiences, I came to realize that I am privileged to have a mother like Sheila. I followed in a way her steps by my own choice btw, not because she pressured me to get involved in ‘Bos di Hubentut’. Like my two other brothers are not involved with ‘Bos di Hubentut’ at all. I am involved because it is my passion to be involved with the Youth.

In 2021 when it was decided to split ‘Bos di Hubentut’ and ‘Brigada di Seguridat’ was transferred to a newly founded independent Foundation as there were too many projects being executed under the umbrella of ‘Bos di Hubentut’. I did all the preparatory work and I became the director of the ‘Youth and Development Foundation’. The goal is to keep working on the development of Youth with a defined program and we also have another project named ‘Let’s get connected‘. Lots of youth lack sufficient opportunities to talk about certain topics, not necessarily because they lack the courage to express themselves, it is more because they are not offered the opportunity. During 15 weeks, they can meet up and have dialogues. This is what we, our team and myself, do at this moment.

We know you are to be a trainer, facilitator, and coach at ‘Bos di Hubentut’. How did you become a trainer or facilitator?
After graduation as a social worker, I considered becoming a teacher for a while. I know for sure that I am capable of this work and I decided to start a new course and subscribe to the Pedagogical Certificate course, which I didn’t finalize but it. I learned a lot and it taught me something important about myself, I am fond of giving training and I am not a person that loves the One-on-Ones. I love giving training related to personal development, so this part of my journey clarified the direction I wanted to further explore. There was a time when my mother was all into Louise Hay and very interested in the subconscious mind and at home, she used to play a lot of these YouTube. This installed in me the type of training I wanted to follow and I developed a love for these kinds of subject matters. I am not so much into the cognitive development of people but more interested in the social-emotional development of people as I consider that to be so much more important than the cognitive side of a human being.

We have understood from you that you are very fond of Conscious Discipline as an Integral Approach. How did you get connected to C.D.?
In 2017 we visited a conference on about violence against woman and Helen Guda was a keynote speaker at this event she gave a presentation about Conscious Discipline. My mother Sheila was adamant that we would introduce this in Curaçao, and she asked if they would support us in this and Helen agreed.

Later on I was in charge of bringing her to Curaçao and she came and gave workshops while we also organized a media tour with different interviews I went along the more I listened to Helen talking to more I got interested in Conscious Discipline. But after she left, we lost momentum until in 2019 we went to a full one-week-long conference again on Conscious Discipline. This one was very intense and we attended this with 5 people. This gave me such a big boost and drive to use Conscious Discipline for my transformation

But I also wanted to spread this in our institutions and organizations in Curaçao.

But then again we lost momentum until very recently we started to work on a project, a house, where we would use Conscious Discipline. A friend of mine and I approached Helen again and we discussed how to start the implementation of Conscious Discipline in this project. Helen was very patient and collaborative and she shared with us her PowerPoint presentations and video materials, and we worked on a guideline that we developed. As of December 2019 and the beginning of 2020 we worked ourselves through the material, we went through the book and discussed it with others on the concepts, we got an even deeper understanding of the approach. So gave a very good one-week training for our colleagues where we worked on all the training and exercises. It was a challenge for us, but we did it anyway, this first one was very exciting and we were nervous, but it became a life changer. I decided that I want to become a Conscious Discipline Trainer as this deals with children and youth and these are the areas where I work in. It helps you to observe other people better as people’s behavior is a way to communicate with one another, it doesn’t matter if it is a toddler or an adult. We talked about it and evaluated, and Helen suggested that we make a logbook because that can become part of the work needed to be done to become a facilitator.

My love for Conscious Discipline drives me to become a certified trainer of conscious discipline. My motivation is to spread it in ‘Brigada di Seguridat’ and at schools as it affected my life and also those who had followed the course.

I also teach people how to change their paradigms.

I also often look at my wheel of life (an LMI concept) and as I was working for Brigada di Seguridat one thing stuck with me, how important a balanced life is. I often revisit my spokes in the wheel of life and adjust where necessary.

My passion at this moment is to enable people in their personal development but especially the emotional parts of that human being.

What are the challenges that you are dealing with? And how are you dealing with these different challenges you confront?
On a personal level, there are times when I have self-doubt. This is despite all of the things I have already achieved in my life. I deal with this challenge by applying my positive affirmations and I get myself organized, as I set my goals and priorities. I also talk to people that have achieved more than me.

My work-related challenges have to do with Finances. As we are a social foundation and not a business this can be a challenge every once and a while. This can demotivate you at times but then when I look back and what we achieved this inspires me again to stay the course.

I have also become a director of the Youth Development Foundation now instead of a project assistant that I was at ‘Bos di Hubentut’. Now my responsibilities have grown I now need to not only deal with my challenges but also with those of my colleagues. This I have to put in the overall picture and balance them and stay balanced. As I just finished a training called: The 15 laws of growth”, offered by Angele Corasol my biggest takeaway was the law of reflection. That is how I deal with the challenges related to my work.

What is your BIG WHY or driving motivation to be who you are right now and do what you are doing now?
My BIG WHY is to become the better version of myself. I also want to motivate and inspire others to become better versions of their selves.

What are your plans for the coming years, let us say 5 years from now?
Personal:
I want to become a certified Conscious Discipline Trainer and I am looking forward to that. In the meantime, I want to pass the message of being sent by Conscious Discipline to as many people as possible, as this is a big need in our society. People need to learn better how to master their emotions, to learn why they feel the way they feel, and learn how thoughts are created. I would travel also, this is very much in my head these days.

Professionally:
To enable more change among more youth, create a platform where youth can come and be served. Where they have the space where they develop and show their maximum potential.

Do you use your inner voice to evaluate when dilemmas show up? How does that work for you?
You know there are two voices the inner voice and the inner critic. The inner voice lifts you up the inner critic fills you with self-doubt. As of the past year, I plan what I want, and my goals and this gives me structure and things then don’t overwhelm me. When I plan there is even room for spontaneous things to fit it. I also deliberately plan more me-time to relax and recharge. By doing this, as I live my life, I tend to not listen to the inner critic.

How are you trying also to keep up with your knowledge and skill levels?
I constantly follow training. The last one was called the 15 laws of growth. I am also deliberately searching for new training that I can attend and I talk to people that are more successful than I am. I am curious about gaining new insights and learning. In the past, I would say that I am busy with all kinds of things, but now I don’t do this anymore as I am aware that this new knowledge and skills, help me to grow and evolve.

What are your strengths?
My way of thinking makes me a force in dealing with lots of things. When I want to achieve something that aligns with my passion, I can achieve a lot, as I have shown in the past. My ability to communicate and connect with people that can help me or that I can be of service. Through Conscious Discipline I have become aware of the power of connection.

Do you have other hobbies or interests that you are also passionate about?
I used to love to present poetry and I used to love to present to greater audiences when I was younger, now I love what I am doing now.

I love traveling and hope to start doing this again.

If you as Rashel would meet a stranger on the bus (let’s say in Berlin or Bogota Columbia) and they would ask you to introduce yourself, what would you answer?
I am a spontaneous person, I am fun to coach and I am a trainer.

How would you describe Rashel in one word or one sentence?
Dedicated and active.

Who are the persons that have inspired you the most in your career?

My mother for sure has never pressured any one of her children to study and go after their academic diplomas, that was something my three aunts would do. My mother gave us the freedom to make our own choices. My mother is a person that is a very persistent and determined person when she wants to achieve something. Her motivation and inspiration to get things done inspires me still.
Helen Guda, because she introduces me to Conscious Discipline.
My three aunts, all have been teachers, and even though they were not aware of the concepts of Conscious Discipline they were able to connect with their students in a very special way. I always use them as examples in my training. When you stroll in the streets you might some ex-student that greet them enthusiastically because of the lasting influence they have had on them. I would like people to remember me also in such a positive way.

What is a trait that is still a work in progress?
Do some more things for me.

What was a defining moment in your life?
The two times I had miscarriages.

What would you want your Loved Ones, family, friends, and others to say about you let’s say 20 years from now?
That I have always cared about people in my surroundings.
That I have a lot of speed and lots of energy.
That I was always able to be helpful, even when I was very busy, I was still there for them when needed.
That I love my family.

What makes you stay optimistic about the future of Curaçao as we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, and recession, and in the middle of growing environmental challenges because of the global warming consequences?
That there is a relay, the next generation of youth that is talented but often these talents are hidden. They are just waiting to get a chance to show their talents and show what they are capable of doing. This is also even though they don’t see it, I know this for sure because I see it.

One of the 250 Influencers

Rashel Hawker is a caring, young, energetic, driven social worker and now director of the “Youth Development Foundation”, that loves poetry, acting, traveling, and loves working with youth. Having been raised in an extended family of educators made her a curious person that of late has discovered her passion. That is to be a trainer focused on personal development with more specifically an emphasis on the emotional parts of the development of human beings. Her journey has brought her to explore and made her discover Conscious Discipline which helped her transform and address the social-emotional development of children and their educators. Using her ability to achieve results when something aligns with her passion; to communicate and connect with people, and her goal-getting abilities based on a balanced life, comes in handy to work on sharing uplifting concepts with our youth. Working on the development of youth, offering them the opportunity to meet up and talk about certain topics, this project is called “Let us get connected”, and is a great initiative. As she believes that the next generations of youth have hidden talents, with the recently started “Youth Development Foundation”, she will work diligently and incessantly towards the unveiling of these talents.

For all these reasons, we consider Rashel Hawker, as one of the 250 Influencers of Curaçao, representing the Educational sector. Look at the list of the Influencers we have interviewed or reported on, up to now.

The goal of the core group of Share2Uplift for 2022

The goal of the Share2Uplift movement is to: “Identify 250 leaders from all walks of life to connect, align and create impactful changes in all walks of life, which includes intergenerational collaboration by the end of 2022.” We will use interviewing Influencers, meet-and-greet events, “train-the-trainers”-programs on “Emotional Mastery” and “Intentionality “as national intervention strategies, to reach this goal on top of our goal to scale up the possibilities to connect, align and create impact via a virtual platform. We believe that by collaborating with Miguel Goede on the virtual Vision 2030 platform, we will accelerate the possibilities to connect the diaspora and others elsewhere in the world and on the island willing to constructively create impactful changes in Curaçao, to join.

As Share2Uplift, we are fully trying to align with this thinking of Center for Curriculum Redesign to promote this agenda in our educational systems and workplace. So, in that sense, we fully support any initiative to make our educational system 21st-century proof.

Share2Uplift aligners are those that:
– Create an inspiring vision of the future;
– Motivate and inspire people to engage with that vision;
– Manage the delivery of the vision;
– Coach and build a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision. These criteria are now being polished.

We also consider these 5 values the most important ones for Share2Uplift aligners. They are:

• Peace from within;
• Compassion;
• Respectfulness;
• Integrity;
• Responsibility.

As we will progress towards this goal, we will update you on the progress.

This week we will share some short videos on ‘Conscious Discipline’. We will upload one of these videos every day on our facebook.com/share2uplift page.

Dr. Becky Bailey Answers, “How Can I Stop A Certain Behavior From A Child?” – YouTube