Patrick Howlett starts his second year as a facilitator of the Pass it On Boys program in October. He wanted to be a filmmaker but accidentally found his passion in working with youth. “Hanging out with youth when they are having a good time is a lot of fun but also very meaningful. You can see in their faces and body language how their experiences in the program affect them and change them in the moment.”
Patrick Howlett (pictured on the left) started working with young people when he was 23 years old. He had just graduated from the University of Sydney, Australia, with a major in Media Studies. The goal was to become a filmmaker, but his life took a ninety-degree turn when he decided to spend one more year in his hometown before starting his career in the big city. He needed a job and became an instructor at an outdoor education center. “I thought it was just for one year and then I would continue my media career, but it totally hooked me.”
The joy that came from working with children and youth was something he hadn’t experienced before. “Hanging out with youth when they are having a good time is just a lot of fun”, he continues. “It’s also very meaningful. You can see in their faces and body language how their experiences in the program affect them and change them in the moment. That kind of immediate feedback is quite addictive. It makes it easy to get up and go to work.”
After that year, Patrick realized he would rather work with young people than pursue a career in filmmaking. “There is a lot more ego involved in filmmaking. People are more focused on the outcome, and the process itself was often stressful and challenging. Whereas in working with youth, it is all about the process; how are we with each other, how do we relate to one another, relate to ourselves and how are we in this moment? The outcome is that we all have a good time. I found out that to be so much more valuable, rewarding and sustainable.”
After working as a flying trapeze coach in New York, and as a facilitator in youth camps in Australia, the United States and Canada, flying back and forth in an endless succession of summers, he decided to move to Vancouver in 2019.
In Squamish, Patrick helped oversee a leadership program that ended with a hike on the Juan de Fuca Trail. While working primarily in an outdoor setting is different from Pass it On, he also sees similarities. In Squamish, participants learn important skills to survive on a demanding and technical trail. In Pass it On, teens learn essential life skills for maintaining healthy relationships: like clear communication, emotional regulation, boundary setting and conflict resolution.
And while the adventures are smaller in Pass it On, participants accomplish the same things. “You prepare for and then practice in real life so you’re going to feel your own competency with these skills,” says Patrick who started as a Pass it On facilitator in 2025. “We do physical challenges in Pass it On as well, but the strength of Pass it On is in the sharing. When we’re sitting in circle, there will be a question or a prompt that will give the participants the chance to share something about themselves, an experience, or belief that they have. The participants decide what and how much they want to share, and how much of their authentic self they want to show. We’re not backpacking through a rainforest, but we are standing in front of our peers and making ourselves known, and they’re both as challenging.”
In Pass it On the participants learn to build confidence, connection, and a greater sense of self-knowing and self-identity. Looking back at his own high school years, Pass it On could have helped him in becoming his true self earlier on. “I wasn’t a sporty kid and went to a high school that was a bit sports-focused, especially for the guys. Amongst those gender-confirming roles, it was a challenge to be the guy that went to art and drama class. When I just started high school, I was very unsure of myself and lacking in confidence about the kind of things I wanted to do with my time.”
Patrick noticed that this is still one of the biggest challenges young people face in high school. “Doing this complicated dance of finding out who you are and being who you are, while still being part of a group. When you are still figuring things out, it’s hard to be confident.”
However, he also sees improvement. “One of the benefits of social media is that youth are able to see a lot more examples of kids their age. There is a bit more representation of diversity of what a teenager can look like.”
Patrick is looking forward to another year of Pass it On, which starts at the beginning of October. “It's a great time for kids in all grades,” Patrick says. “You get to know yourself really well, build friendships with others, be silly, muck around and laugh. But you also get to be real. It is a really nice way to check in with yourself once a week. If there's something bothering you, something that you're going through, Pass it On is a space where you can share that and maybe get some help. But if you just want to come and have a good time and be with friends, you can do that too. There's a lot there and it's definitely worth checking out.”
Pass it On is a free after-school program for high school students (Grades 9–12) that supports mental well-being, healthy relationships, and personal growth.
Facilitated by The Circle Education, Pass it On uses cross-peer mentorship, group activities, and connection to help teens thrive in a supportive, brave space.
Pass it On starts in October. Meet us Tuesdays after school at GISS from 4:10 to 6:30. Snacks included!
Try it out. Bring a friend. Pass it on.
Email us to sign up (or for more information): [email protected]
