Two standing ovations. Tears. Laughter. And the profound inspiration that electrifies an audience when true leaders speak from the heart about the Chicago -- and the Chicagoans -- they care about deeply. That was Breakfast with PEAK. All in ninety minutes. All before work on the most beautiful day yet of 2019. The first standing ovation came after PEAK scholar Makiya Baskerville took the entire room of PEAK supporters on her four-year journey from completely “intimidated” Holy Trinity High School Freshman -- desperately trying to fly below the radar -- to the remarkably brave, poised, eloquent, humble, and driven college-bound senior she is today. Makiya perfectly captured the power of mento

When Jada White's mentor Nicole moved to Seattle, her cousin, Mary Kate Fulghum, jumped right in. Right out of the gate, mentor-scholar relationships can be a bit awkward sometimes. Attempting to create a life-changing relationship from scratch is a start-and-stop ride for most mentors. But not for Mary Kate! She dove in head first. During their first outing, Mary Kate introduced Jada to her family. From there she built on the things that they shared in common: basketball, food, and art. Mary Kate was able to support Jada, who is a basketball player for the Holy Trinity High School Lady Tigers, by showing up to watch her play and routinely celebrating her success with a pizza dinner at their

Kirti Patel is a generous supporter of Holy Trinity and Catholic education. “I had been thinking about mentoring for a while, and really felt I had more to give,” said Kirti on why she decided to become a PEAK mentor after raising her own children. Kirti mentors PEAK scholar and Holy Trinity freshman Jocelyn Martinez. Kirti described Jocelyn as really smart. “She can handle anything that’s placed in front of her.” Many of our PEAK mentors come from different neighborhoods, upbringings, and phases of life than our scholars. When asked what her biggest challenge as a mentor has been, Kirti thoughtfully mentioned communication and that Jocelyn is facing much tougher challenges than what she (Ki