Cato Abbot

I was born in Tucson Arizona, lived in Austin TX, and grew up in Nashville. I went to Meigs Middle and Hume-Fogg. I was named Cato inspired by a distant relative on my dad's side of the family from Georgia. In college, I enjoyed studying abroad in Korea and Italy. 

I have attended A New Leaf since its inception as a camper, then a camp counselor, and even a Kindergarten teacher. While I was studying in Rome, I visited Reggio Emilia and the Loris Malaguzzi International Center.

As Pip and Pickles farm manager, I take care of the animals and grounds in preparation for educational instructions with our students and Triangle Play families. 

The volunteers of the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) inspired my sense for community service. During this gap year I worked to restore a historic African American cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, helped with disaster relief in northern Florida, and participated in an effort to revitalize the Mississippi River Basin Model in Jackson, Mississippi. 

I graduated from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in 2021 with a degree in International Politics and Government, and a concentration in International Relations. The career paths I contemplated required experiences in teaching and agriculture, so it made sense to continue my journey here at A New Leaf.

Build with legos, cook, play games, read, watch movies and car races, hike and plan travels.

My first language was French and I can still get by without claiming fluency. I speak car models, geography and spacial reasoning. I am learning the languages of carpentry and Kubota grease points.

Everything, and especially Korean BBQ!

Blue like the Arizona sky and my first toy car.

Travel to new continents.

The mission, the people, Poodle and Ahsoka, my tractor and the stimulation of learning something new regularly.