“From building pinhole cameras, to turning my hallway into a mini gallery, and then creating my college application portfolio, you’ve taught me so much and really let me explore photography. Thank you for all of the opportunities and milestones you helped me achieve. Without you, publishing my editorial in The Almanac, having my first photography exhibition at the Konditorei in Portola Valley, publishing 4 photography books, getting 7 out of 8 college acceptances, and my solo photography exhibition at the Village Hub in Woodside wouldn’t have been possible.

It’s really cool to look back and see how my work has grown. And honestly, I don’t know if I’d even be going to college to study photojournalism if it weren’t for you. So, thank you so much, I am so so grateful!”

“I am so grateful that Anna had a chance to participate in the Creative Youth Collective last year as a scholarship recipient. What stands out the most to me was and is your unwavering embrace and celebration of Anna as an individual and a creative. You made her feel, at every opportunity, that her voice, her story, and her unique mode of expression were important and worthwhile to put out into the world. During those times (and there were many) that Anna doubted herself and her abilities, she knew that you never doubted her - that kind of support is critical for all kids, but for a teenager like Anna, I think it made all the difference. In the end, because of the Collective, Anna had the opportunity to experience the beginnings of the impact she will have in the real world - 7 out of 8 college acceptances. But most importantly, when she put her heart on display - the Namibia exhibit at the Celebration of Creative Youth this past summer - and received exuberant feedback from our greater community, she began to truly believe in herself. As her parent, it was a joy to witness.”

“Writing is my passion and a healing journey that has helped me cope with and grow from early childhood traumatic experiences. Last year, I was honored to receive a scholarship to join the Creative Youth Collective. This incredible program offers a bespoke creative writing and photography mentorship for curious and creative teens like me, guiding us through the entire creative process from idea generation to publishing our own books. Thanks to one-on-one mentorship, I was able to publish my first book, “Farewell,” which was a dream come true!

Now, I am eager to continue and publish the second book in the Farewell series. But my dreams don’t stop there. My ultimate goal is to become a screenwriter and turn my stories into movies or TV shows. Your support means the world to me, and I am grateful for your belief in my dreams!”

“The CCC Project has been a game-changer for my daughter, Zoe. Kathryn not only boosted Zoe’s confidence in writing but also provided her with a trusted adult who supports her overall development. Zoe always looked forward to her private 1:1 sessions with Kathryn, which became the highlight of her week. By the end of the program, Zoe had completed and published her first book, a milestone that filled her with pride and ignited a spark that has influenced her love for writing. As a parent, I couldn’t be more grateful for the academic and personal growth my daughter has experienced through Kathryn’s guidance.”

“My favorite part of being in the Creative Youth Collective and creating my blog, Addie’s Going Places, has been being able to do something cool after school and having a lot of fun with it! It was great to have time to write about the things that I love, fun experiences, and just show my friends and family what’s going on in my life. ”

“I just cannot thank you enough for the care and love you have sent my daughter’s way at a very critical time in her life. She had a very big transition to a new school that was, in many ways, very good for her and, in many ways, very difficult for her. You have let her shine and been the encouragement she needed to grow into a confident artist. :) Thank you. You will always be SUCH a blessing to our family as we weave this fabric of time.

You have meant the world to us... I mean it!”

“I am proud of the story I was able to tell - it’s honestly one that I didn’t even know I could tell. Kathryn helped me to improve at writing in a conversational tone, and I personally enjoyed the multimedia aspects of our work. I created my story not only as an essay, but as a series of photographs that told my story visually, as well, and then self published it as a hardcover book!
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“I loved discovering a story in my life that I wanted to tell and through the process, I learned even more about myself and my story. I loved looking for great photo angles and looking through my parents old photos and graduation pictures. It was a great excuse to look more into their past life.

From working on this creative project with Kathryn, I learned that my family and education are very important to me. I now know where I get my determination and work ethic from. I guess you could say it is in my blood!

When looking at what I’ve accomplished, I am most proud of conveying my story with a voice of my own. You could really hear my voice in my writing and also in my photos. The photos I took turned out amazing!

I would absolutely recommend working with Kathryn! I thought I didn’t have an interesting story to tell from my few 17 years of life, but this project showed me that I do.
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“Before starting, it was not clear to me that my daughter would learn idea structuring and grammar through the program. Clearly she has. I believe she has become a better writer, specifically by learning how to think through her writing and projects before she starts to write. She still has structure challenges, but when I suggest changes to her, she understands my suggestions better after working with Kathryn.

My daughter is also more focused on capturing photos and videos to use in future blog posts. I can tell this program nurtures her creative soul, which makes my wife and I happy. Even though my daughter is a beginner, her blog looks great. She also has a lot of pride in her blog, especially now that our friends are commenting on her posts.

In addition to the final, public product, I can tell that my daughter is becoming a more confident writer. This is what I appreciate most. I absolutely would recommend this program. Wish it was a class at their school.”

““This past year, I became a much better writer than I thought I could be, thanks to you! I got to write about things close to my heart, and I had so much fun and lots of laughs while doing it. Now my blog is amazing and filled with posts!”

“One of my highlights from this year is writing. I have learned I like writing more because I wrote a lot with Kathryn. I learned to edit my writing more carefully and use vivid verbs and different adjectives. To bring my stories to life on my blog I learned to add more pictures and videos to illustrate my writing. Lastly I learned that comments and suggestions from my readers can motivate me to write more and improve.”

“Writing on a blog is something I started in 7th grade and it has made writing so much easier and more fun than writing at school. At school, the writing that we do is really boring. However, when I write here on my blog, I get a lot more freedom. Also, I have a lot more time to prepare and edit whereas when I am at school, I have a set time to finish my piece. In addition, when I write on my blog, I get to choose my topic. This makes it a lot easier because I enjoy writing about that topic. Finally, when I write on my blog, I can read my writing out loud. For me, it makes it a lot easier to catch mistakes that I would not have been able to catch if I read in my head.”