Each year at our Annual Friend Raiser, Friends of the Children - Boston names an Achiever of the Year. The Achiever we honor in 2026 has been with us for twelve years, has been accepted to four colleges, and starts in the fall as a chemistry major. Meet Kamara.

On May 8, Kamara Rodriguez stood on stage at the Annual Friend Raiser and told her own story. Kamara, our 2026 Achiever of the Year, has been part of the Friends of the Children - Boston family for twelve years.

Kamara is an artist and a storyteller. Last summer, she traveled to Japan to study Manga, a form she has been drawing for years. This past spring, she opened acceptance letters from four colleges, and this fall, she begins her freshman year as a chemistry major.

Her path to that stage started in elementary school. Kamara was the first Achiever Mary Kate Sullivan ever mentored, more than ten years ago. (Young Kamara also famously called her "Mary Cake.") Together, they spent six years working through everything that came up in Kamara's elementary years, including emotional outbursts she didn't yet have words for and a long stretch when she was commuting from Nashua, New Hampshire to Roxbury for school and weekly outings. Art, already a passion of Kamara's, became something more. It gave her a way to express what she couldn't yet say out loud and an anchor through transitions that might have shaken her otherwise. When the pandemic closed indoor visits, Mary Kate sat with Kamara on her front porch while Kamara pulled out the animals she had made from rubber bands.

"Showing up every week, fostering her passion, and giving her a space to express herself freely was more valuable than anything I could say," Mary Kate reflected at the Friend Raiser.

Middle school brought a different set of questions. Her Friend (professional mentor) Shane carried her through those years, helping her understand and accept the changes that came with growing up.

For the past two years, Kadijah has been Kamara's Friend (professional mentor) through her adolescent years. Most afternoons they sit together, Kamara casually creating artwork Kadijah believes belongs in a gallery, while they talk about who Kamara wants to be next. "I learned pretty quickly," Kadijah said, "that Kamara loves art, does not enjoy sports games, and has a true gift for storytelling."

College wasn't part of those early conversations. Kamara didn't see herself there yet. So Kadijah kept showing up, and they kept talking: about who Kamara is, what she is capable of, what she deserves, the future she wants. Stories of a childhood marked by difficult moments and loss came up. So did stories of joy and the love that has surrounded her.

"Hardship is just a small part of a young person's story," Kadijah said.

The young woman who once couldn't find the words for her own feelings is now a leader in Friends of the Children — Boston's Youth Leaders in Mental Health program, helping elementary Achievers find words for theirs.

On the night she was named Achiever of the Year, Kamara told the room what twelve years here have meant. "I learned many lessons at Friends of the Children that schools don't teach you," she said. She named the moments each of her Friends showed up for her. She thanked her mom, who enrolled her in the program more than twelve years ago. And then she looked toward what's next.

"I know college will be hard," she said. "But I have overcome a lot of obstacles, and I will face it with confidence."

Kamara is heading into her next chapter with everyone who has stood with her cheering her on. We cannot wait to see what she does. 12+ years, no matter what.