2019 Recipient

Katrina and her twin sister, Michaela, have a lot in common. They are both exceptional young women who lead by example. In addition to volunteering for the Best Buddies program they co-founded CHAMP, Chelmsford High School Accommodative Mentoring Program. Katrina and Michaela’s high school had peer mentoring programs in place, but they noticed that students with special needs were being unintentionally lost in the shuffle.

Katrina and Michaela created CHAMP because they wanted students with special needs to experience a more intimate, individualized form of support. During monthly meetings the sisters would discuss student concerns, model problem solving, play games, and teach lessons related to organizational and social skills. They designed their program to be a lifeline for students with special needs as they transition to high school.

Katrina and Michaela’s passion for helping students with disabilities discover their talents and increase their confidence has led them both to pursue helping professions in college. Katrina plans to major in Special Education at Assumption College while Michaela will study Speech Pathology at Worcester State University this fall. We are proud to award both Katrina and Michaela a Mark Bavis Leadership Scholarship and wish them the best in their future endeavors.