Every month, we celebrate an Achiever who has shown incredible growth, perseverance, and dedication to their goals. This month, we are proud to spotlight Katie*, a spirited third-grader who has been part of the Friends-Boston community for almost two years. Inspired by her hero Simone Biles, she’s learning that champions practice, persevere, and believe in themselves.

Meet Katie, a naturally sassy young person who loves being in charge and always has clever one-liners to share (once, she jokingly told a new staff member he still had dishes to do!) She even gave herself a stage name, Silver Star, because if Lady Gaga has a celebrity name, she should, too.

This year, Katie was cautious about trying new things and wanted to be perfect right away. But her Friend (mentor) Jocelyn helped her start small and work her way up with challenges like the monkey bars.

One of Katie's summer roadmap goals was to learn four new gymnastics moves, including mastering the monkey bars. Her breakthrough came when she set a goal to jump to the second bar, and she did it! More importantly, she didn't give up when things got tough, which had been a barrier in the past.

Katie's transformation was fueled in part by her hero, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. After seeing Biles perform and learning about her journey, Katie began to understand that even champions have to practice and work hard and that they weren't Olympians overnight. And when Simone Biles waved at her during a show, it became a moment she'll never forget.

This mindset has also helped Katie in other areas. Her current goal is to write complete sentences with correct capitalization, spacing, and punctuation 8 out of 10 times. She's already making great strides by writing thoughtful cards for people and is learning to respond more constructively to feedback from teachers.

Jocelyn shared what makes their relationship special:

"I love being able to support and encourage her as she finds her voice and strength in this world."

Katie recently earned her gi and obi in our karate program. She approaches the monkey bars with confidence now, using positive "I can" statements. While she hasn't made it all the way across yet, she's celebrating every step of progress!

Thank you, Katie, for inspiring us with your resilience and determination and for reminding us all to keep reaching for the next bar.

*name changed