MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — The Muskegon Heights High School Class of 2022 welcomed 29 new Tiger Alumni on Thursday.
Those who came before them want to make sure they're set up for success.
“I want you to see what you can be,” Kaja Thornton-Hunter said.
Kaja Thornton-Hunter was this year's commencement speaker. When she was asked if she was up for the task, she knew she needed to do more than just speak. She needed to act.
“I want to tell those kids that anything is possible. Even though you come from the small town of Muskegon Heights, which is close and family knit, you can do whatever you want to do,” Thornton-Hunter said.
Kaja graduated in the class of 1990. Her mother and aunt both taught at Muskegon Heights for more than 30 years. Since graduating, she's created multiple successful businesses and opened a community hub for Muskegon Heights called The "Us" Cafe.
“Being that person that I am, it was in my spirit to do something for those kids,” Thornton-Hunter said.
So Kaja did just that. With the help of other community leaders, every graduate will receive the tools they need for their next steps.
Precise Writing's owner Dondra Pentecost will help each graduate write a resume or scholarship application.
“Coach them through the job interview, give them some tips, give them some skills,” Pentecost said.
That's not all. If they need a state ID, the resources for that are now at the graduate's fingertips in the form of a voucher.
“I feel like that’s a great opportunity for all of us,” graduate Curtis Hughes said.
If the resume and ID aren't enough of a head-start, a fellow Muskegon Heights alumni is helping push things even further. Darius Mitchell, COO of Shoreline Staffing, graduated as a Tiger in 1997.
“We’re going to give them an opportunity at life,” Mitchell said.
Shoreline Staffing will hire every graduate for a summer job. They'll have the resume, and the ID to get there.
“We saw a lot of our own that were able to help us. That’s kinda got lost along the way. We wanna bring that back,” Mitchell said.
Kaja had one more trick up her sleeve, with the help of the community foundation and the Muskegon Heights branch of Comerica Bank.
“You all will receive a $50 voucher to start your own bank account,” Kaja said.
The entire audience stood up and applauded when Kaja made that announcement.
“They can say, those people really helped me. And they looked like me.” Thornton-Hunter said.
Helping the community she loves means everything to Kaja.
“It’s a jump start to adulthood. We don’t have that. A lot of the kids are having open houses right after graduation. You have your family writing checks. How are you going to cash that? And then it’s financial literacy,” Kaja said.
It caught every graduate by surprise.
“Even for us to not know her, she didn’t know us. She looked out for us,” Graduate Chantelle Bolan said.
Kaja hopes, this lesson will remind kids: that the community is in their corner. On graduation day, and every day after that.
