10.03.2018

Ambitious Treehouse Youth Team Up in High School and Now College

By Jesse Colman, Treehouse Public Relations Specialist

Treehouse Graduation Success youth Mara and Lexzi realized during their senior year of high school that they both had been accepted to Washington State University. Already good friends, they made a pact to room together as college freshmen.

“I think it made us closer,” Lexzi said. “Knowing we might go to the same college and be roommates, it gave us the encouragement to make it happen.”

Mara and Lexzi met weekly with their Treehouse Education Specialist, Jamie Burns, as they worked to graduate and enter college.

“Jamie was there for us through thick and thin, from filling out all those applications to finding scholarships,” Lexzi said. “She made sure we could go to college without having to worry about the costs and fulfill our dreams rather than thinking we aren’t good enough.”

Mara and Lexzi worked incredibly hard their senior year to overcome a lot of challenges. Now graduates of Sammamish High School, the two are settling into their dorm room, gearing up for the next chapter in their life and readying for the new challenges that college will bring. Just like their senior year, the two plan to support each other as they work to pursue their dreams.

“I couldn’t think of a better pair to be living together and holding each other accountable,” Jamie said. “Their strengths bring out the best in the other person.”

Mara and Lexzi are both ambitious. Mara, who’s been writing stories since she was five, aspires to be a professional author.

“Reading books has been my escape from reality and really helped me go through what I went through growing up,” Mara said. “I want to be able to make people feel the same way that I did while reading.”

Lexzi plans on studying equine therapy to work with children that suffer from physical or mental illness. She is motivated by her experiences with foster care and homelessness to work with others in need.

“Knowing what it’s like to be in those situations made me realize I want to help people that don’t have access to as many resources,” Lexzi said.