Julie Kennedy ’99 left Willamette University with a chemistry degree, a passion for teaching and a desire to create positive change for children in need.
She went on to help found and lead a charter school for inner-city students in Brooklyn — one that beat all other New York City public schools, both regular and charter, in a progress report the year after it opened.
Today, Williamsburg Collegiate Charter School puts students struggling with poverty, learning delays and disabilities on the path to college.
Kennedy says the experience that most inspired her to teach was the Webber Scholarship, a Willamette program that allows female science undergraduates to serve as role models for children. She developed lesson plans as she tried to show the students why chemistry mattered.
Kennedy thanks her Willamette education for giving her the confidence to take on tough challenges — like leading the charter school.
"Willamette always encouraged me and other students to make things happen, whether it was organizing a flood relief drive or putting on a basketball tournament. That's the reason I'm doing what I am now. I never questioned that if we had a vision for a school, we could make it happen."
