{"id":3537,"date":"2016-12-09T16:11:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T16:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?p=3537"},"modified":"2016-12-09T16:11:24","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T16:11:24","slug":"a-world-of-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/","title":{"rendered":"A World of Good"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>With the holiday season upon us, the AYF has so much gratitude for all of the ways in which the members of our community make a positive impact in our world. Every year, we are overwhelmed with the accomplishments of our alumni, AYF families, and friends. The stories of people at their best have filled the pages of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Founder-Fire-2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Founder Fire<\/a>, and we are eager to continue sharing new stories of those who put the mission into action and move us forward.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3541 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Rahul-Rathod-Headshot-437x640.jpg\" alt=\"AYF alumni rahul rathod headshot\" width=\"259\" height=\"379\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 259px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 259\/379;\" \/>By Tovah Burstein<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rahul Rathod<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>15 years as an AYF participant and staff member, first with ILC at Miniwanca, then at Cedar Lake, and Merrowvista<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1994<\/strong><strong>: Co-Director of the brand new Cedar Lake ILC program<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2016: Pediatric Cardiologist<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Rahul Rathod set out for California to start the Cedar Lake ILC program, he was only 20 years old. \u201c<em>In some ways it was a really great example of how the AYF puts their ideas into practice. They put young people in leadership positions. They give them a lot of responsibility at a formative time. I really do owe a lot of my success and my own personal development to the ILC program<\/em>.\u201d Rahul credits much of his success to the four years he spent on Stony Lake. \u201c<em>Before Miniwanca, I thought leaders were born with it. Even that first summer I came out with a different perception of my own self\u2014it changed me. I started to be more deliberate. I can trace so much of where I am today to that experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Today, many young people can trace their success and their health to Rahul. After 12 consecutive summers with the AYF, Rahul went on to medical school and became a pediatric cardiologist. Rahul often takes on new patients before they are born, working with parents who have learned that their child will come into the world with a heart condition. Many patients go through several surgeries and often stay in Rahul\u2019s care into their adulthood. \u201c<em>I build a long-term relationship first with these parents, who want everything for their child, and then with the patients themselves as they mature<\/em>.\u201d These longitudinal relationships make Rahul\u2019s work rewarding, but it can also be very emotional. \u201c<em>I see these kids grow up\u2014and I am just as affected when good things happen as when it\u2019s bad. There\u2019s a lot of times, I can\u2019t promise what the future holds. That\u2019s just a part of being human, I think<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The AYF emphasizes living in community and making a positive impact\u2014but Rahul isn\u2019t always sure what his impact is and who is in his central community. The morning we spoke with him, he had been at the hospital the night before until past 10:00 pm. <em>\u201cI guess it\u2019s about giving your best. Being your best self, when you\u2019re doing whatever you\u2019re doing. Whether it\u2019s my family, or my patient family, or my neighborhood. By knowing a little bit better who I am and having that confidence. That affects everything I do everyday. You know, ILC wasn\u2019t meant to set me up for medical school\u2014but it did. It sounds corny, but it\u2019s true. Know thyself\u2014I kind of found myself on the sand dunes of Miniwanca.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the holiday season upon us, the AYF has so much gratitude for all of the ways in which the members of our community make a positive impact in our world. Every year, we are overwhelmed with the accomplishments of our alumni, AYF families, and friends. The stories of people at their best have filled the pages of the Founder &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":1968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,58,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-merrowvista","category-miniwanca","category-national-leadership-conference"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A World of Good - American Youth Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A World of Good - American Youth Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the holiday season upon us, the AYF has so much gratitude for all of the ways in which the members of our community make a positive impact in our world. Every year, we are overwhelmed with the accomplishments of our alumni, AYF families, and friends. The stories of people at their best have filled the pages of the Founder ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Youth Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1281\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Previous Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Previous Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Previous Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0850e0016ebd8922abd837b567bbefc\"},\"headline\":\"A World of Good\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\"},\"wordCount\":547,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Merrowvista\",\"Miniwanca\",\"National Leadership Conference\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\",\"name\":\"A World of Good - American Youth Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1281,\"caption\":\"courtesy facebook.com\/TerpstraPhoto\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A World of Good\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\",\"name\":\"American Youth Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Youth Foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":744,\"caption\":\"American Youth Foundation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0850e0016ebd8922abd837b567bbefc\",\"name\":\"Previous Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2827e2f6b65efa61497aaa45ff07fdb82c2acda12f1102d207fa5225fc035eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2827e2f6b65efa61497aaa45ff07fdb82c2acda12f1102d207fa5225fc035eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Previous Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/author\/previous-staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A World of Good - American Youth Foundation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A World of Good - American Youth Foundation","og_description":"With the holiday season upon us, the AYF has so much gratitude for all of the ways in which the members of our community make a positive impact in our world. Every year, we are overwhelmed with the accomplishments of our alumni, AYF families, and friends. The stories of people at their best have filled the pages of the Founder ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/","og_site_name":"American Youth Foundation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/","article_published_time":"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1281,"url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Previous Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Previous Staff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/"},"author":{"name":"Previous Staff","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0850e0016ebd8922abd837b567bbefc"},"headline":"A World of Good","datePublished":"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/"},"wordCount":547,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg","articleSection":["Merrowvista","Miniwanca","National Leadership Conference"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/","name":"A World of Good - American Youth Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-09T16:11:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Camp-Miniwanca-staff-and-student-look-at-Lake-Michigan-from-top-of-dune-photo-courtesy-Dan-Terpstra-min.jpg","width":1920,"height":1281,"caption":"courtesy facebook.com\/TerpstraPhoto"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/a-world-of-good\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A World of Good"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/","name":"American Youth Foundation","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization","name":"American Youth Foundation","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png","width":800,"height":744,"caption":"American Youth Foundation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0850e0016ebd8922abd837b567bbefc","name":"Previous Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2827e2f6b65efa61497aaa45ff07fdb82c2acda12f1102d207fa5225fc035eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2827e2f6b65efa61497aaa45ff07fdb82c2acda12f1102d207fa5225fc035eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Previous Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/author\/previous-staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}