Celebrating our 2025 High Five Recipients
Each year, King Street Center’s High Five Awards remind us what community truly means. It’s one of our favorite traditions — a chance to pause, gather together, and celebrate the people who make King Street shine.
From youth who show up with purpose, to staff who create magic in classrooms, to volunteers, partners, and donors whose care ripples outward — this evening is a living portrait of what happens when we invest in one another.
Below are the stories behind our 2025 High Five Award recipients — five reminders of why connection, consistency, and belief will always be the heartbeat of King Street Center.
When we talk about leadership at King Street, we don’t mean who speaks the loudest — we mean those who lead through curiosity, consistency, and kindness.
Esta embodies all of those things.
A powerhouse in our Academic & Career Exploration (ACE) program, Esta didn’t just meet expectations — she soared far beyond them. Over the past two years, she participated in forty ACE activities (four times the annual requirement), all while balancing an internship at Fourbital Factory, a week at the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont, and participation in UVM’s Upward Bound program.
And she still made time to come home to King Street — not because she had to, but because she wanted to.
Esta’s determination and warmth light up every room she enters. She leads by example, listens deeply, and uplifts everyone around her. Her story is proof that when young people are given space to explore, they rise — again and again.
Congratulations, Esta — we’re so proud to walk beside you as you continue to build your bright future.
In King Street’s Early Education program, we like to say that important work happens here. Emily embodies that truth every single day.
For nearly eight years, she’s poured her heart into creating classrooms filled with curiosity, belonging, and joy. To Emily, early education isn’t a job — it’s a philosophy rooted in the belief that children are strong, capable, and curious learners who deserve to be seen and celebrated for who they are.
Her colleagues describe her as steady, thoughtful, and endlessly creative. Families describe her as a source of comfort and trust. And the children? They show it in the way they run into her arms each morning.
Emily’s leadership has shaped the very heartbeat of our early education program — nurturing not only children, but families and staff alike.
Thank you, Emily, for your heart, your wisdom, and your unwavering belief in every child’s potential.
There are volunteers who give time — and there are volunteers who give transformation.
For more than a decade, Erika and Anna Senft Miller have been part of the King Street family, turning learning into something deeply personal and profoundly joyful.
Together, they built Empowered Learning, a program rooted in respect, curiosity, play, creativity, and joy. It began with a simple but powerful recognition: that every child learns differently — and that difference is something to be honored, not fixed.
Erika, an educator and researcher, and Anna, a creative mentor who began as a Book Buddy, combined their lived experiences and wisdom to build a model where children who once said “I can’t” began to believe — and know — that they can.
Their program has transformed not just how our kids learn, but how they see themselves.
Erika and Anna, thank you for your courage, tenderness, and belief in the brilliance of every child. Your legacy is woven into the very fabric of King Street Center.
When we launched our ACE program, we dreamed of partners who would see our teens not just as students, but as future colleagues.
BETA Technologies has done exactly that.
From resume workshops and hands-on career explorations to mentorship conversations with engineers and innovators, BETA has opened its doors — and its imagination — to King Street youth.
Their message to our teens is powerful and simple: “You belong here. Your ideas matter. The future needs you.”
Because of BETA, our teens see what’s possible — not as a faraway dream, but as a path they can walk.
Thank you, BETA Technologies, for expanding horizons and helping our youth take flight. Here’s to flying even higher together.
For more than 30 years, M&T Bank has stood beside King Street Center — not just as a supporter, but as a steadfast partner in community.
Their impact is everywhere: in our classrooms, at our golf tournaments, in our capital campaign, and in countless moments of care. From delivering groceries during the pandemic to ensuring our families had food just weeks ago during a critical emergency, their team has shown up — again and again — with heart and hands.
M&T’s generosity even helped our teens take their first out-of-state college exploration trip to Boston, visiting Harvard, Boston University, and the Boston Public Library — moments that expand dreams and shift what feels possible.
Their commitment goes beyond funding — it’s about relationship, trust, and believing in what’s next.
Thank you to Kathy, Heidi, Jonathan, and the entire M&T team for your enduring partnership, compassion, and care.
To all of our 2025 High Five Award recipients:
You remind us that community is something we build.
You remind us that belonging is something we practice.
You remind us that every act of care ripples outward.
To every honoree — and to every person who makes King Street Center what it is — thank you. You are the heart of this work.
