Massachusetts teen dedicates herself to helping others in need, being a leader to teammates
MILTON - A recent Massachusetts graduate is heading to college after establishing a legacy of athletics, leadership and service at her high school.
Three-sport captain and all-star
Roisin Burke just graduated from Fontbonne Academy in Milton and is heading to Holy Cross in the fall. In high school, she stood out as a three-sport captain in volleyball, indoor track and outdoor track.
"She's just someone that always does everything by the books," said Anna DeVitto, Fontbonne's athletic director. "She's very driven. She's someone that just does everything right when you're not looking."
"I feel like once I became that leader, I had the job to set a standard, to set an example," said Burke.
As a Catholic Conference all-star in all three sports, the example Burke set went beyond the stat sheet, driven by her dedication to her craft.
"Just extremely consistent in how she shows up," said DeVitto. "And whatever she does, she just puts her whole heart into it."
Raising money to help an indigenous family in Guatemala
In her senior year, Burke put her whole heart into a different kind of craft, one of the handcrafted variety that started with her theology class' social justice project.
"Every student picks a social justice topic that's dear to them and does extensive research on its history, on what's going on now and what they could do about it," said Burke's theology teacher, Steve Tumolo.
Burke chose to do her social justice project on injustices faced by indigenous people. Looking to make a direct impact, Tumolo put her in contact with an indigenous woman in Guatemala named Kenya. Kenya is a mother of six children that Tumolo met while visiting the town of San Pedro and she's known for her weaving skills.
"Just getting their six kids through school was a challenge," said Tumolo. "Just getting medical care was a challenge."
Connecting over WhatsApp, Burke's classmates helped translate her intentions of selling small works of art woven by Kenya to the school community. Burke said she wasn't sure if it was going to work at first, calling it a long shot, until a box arrived at Fontbonne Academy with her name on it.
"I opened it in front of the entire class, and it was all the birds, and everyone immediately was super happy," said Burke.
One hundred woven birds made by Kenya were inside the box. Each one symbolic.
"She's gone through a lot. There's high rates of poverty in Guatemala for indigenous communities. And she uses those birds as a symbol of strength," said Burke. It didn't take Burke long to sell all 100 of them and send $1,100 back to Guatemala for Kenya and her family.
"She sent me pictures of her girls in their full school clothes," said Tumolo. "They got medical treatment that they'd long been delaying. So I think the kids are in school and they're healthy and that's amazing right there. And they've got food."
"It kind of inspires me because it means I can help anyone, anywhere," said Burke. "If I was able to do that, I feel like I can serve the communities close by or I can serve communities across the country, across the world, even through simple acts."