Staff Rooted in Community: Meet Kevin

Today, Kevin serves as Solidarity's Director of Operations. Years earlier, he was a participant at the Garnet Teen Center, navigating difficult choices and searching for a path forward.

Like many young people in his neighborhood, he was exposed to gang activity and the pressures that came with it. During his freshman year of high school, he realized he would have to make a choice about the direction he wanted his life to take.

For Kevin, attending the Garnet Teen Center was about more than just hanging out with friends after school. It was a space where he felt seen, valued, and connected. The relationships he built with staff and mentors offered a different vision for his future: one rooted in purpose and community.

Staff members encouraged him to take on leadership roles, participate in community events, and consider educational opportunities he had never imagined for himself.

Those relationships became especially meaningful as he approached high school graduation and adulthood. Like many first-generation college students, Kevin found the process of planning for life after high school overwhelming. College applications, financial aid, and navigating unfamiliar systems felt daunting.

"I didn't know how to complete the FAFSA or what those next steps looked like," he says. "The staff walked me through the applications and helped me the whole time."

As he got older and started exploring career paths, Kevin knew he wanted to be a leader in his community. He applied for a position at Solidarity, eager to help create the same sense of belonging and opportunity for teens in the neighborhood that he experienced.

He joined the Solidarity staff as the Maple Teen Center Lead, spending the next two and a half years mentoring youth who faced many of the same challenges he once had. Drawing from his own experiences, he worked to ensure that community members felt supported, heard, and encouraged to make positive choices for themselves.

Over time, Kevin took on additional leadership responsibilities as both a Program Lead and Office Administrator. These roles expanded his skills, deepened his understanding of organizational operations, and prepared him for greater leadership within Solidarity.

While his responsibilities have changed over the years, his motivation remains the same: creating opportunities for immigrant youth and families to discover their potential and envision a future beyond their current challenges.

Kevin’s journey reflects the lasting impact that supportive relationships and opportunities can have on a young person's life. The guidance he received through the Garnet Teen Center helped him navigate pivotal life choices, discover his strengths, and dream of new possibilities for his future.

As Solidarity's Director of Operations, Kevin is helping create those same opportunities for others, investing in the next generation of young people and strengthening the community that helped shape his own journey.