Kathy has been a part of the Firewall program since she was in the 6th grade. Janeth Fernandez says “I still remember Kathy when she started Firewall. She would work so hard on her academics. She didn’t even speak English at the time, but had such a great desire to better herself that it didn’t hold her back. My favorite part about Kathy is her heart to serve. She loves to help people and always has a smile on her face!”

She learned from a young age that hard work and perseverance produce great results. We knew her potential so as soon as she became a junior in high school, we offered her an internship opportunity to mentor our middle school students. Of course, Kathy was happy to give back and did an excellent job. We were happy to see her grow, mature, and become a great role mole to her students. In her senior year, we were pleased to hire her as a mentor, but this time as part-time staff member.

Kathy believes that there is no excuse for not doing your best. Growing up, she overcame many obstacles and therefore she pushed her own group of Firewall students to excel and had faith that they could do the same.” Kathy graduated from Western High School this year with a 3.57 GPA and over 400 community service hours. She is great with our students and building relationships and wants to be an HR professional in the future.  We are so proud of her and know that she will continue to do great things in her community.