November 20, 2025

After being placed in more than 10 different homes as a child, Krista was no stranger to adapting to unpredictable environments. She learned how to survive and endure hardships on her own. But it wasn’t until Plummer helped her become reacquainted with a supportive connection from her past that Krista began to thrive. She found the strength to turn her difficulties into determination and became inspired to join the Army.

A Family Tragedy

At the tender age of 5, tragedy struck Krista’s family when her parents passed away from a car accident. With no relatives able to take her in, Krista entered the foster care system shortly after entering kindergarten. “I didn’t understand what was going on. All of a sudden my parents were gone, and I kept moving from place to place,” Krista remembered.

The once charismatic kindergartener became withdrawn. She began having trouble concentrating in school and struggled to fit in with her classmates. She often found herself getting into fights. Growing up in unstable home environments and navigating grief had caused her to develop anxiety and PTSD. Anger. Loneliness. Isolation. Fear of the unknown. Krista felt as if she didn’t have anyone in the world to turn to.

Sparks of Hope

When Krista was referred to Plummer Youth Promise at age 17, things began to change. Our social workers noticed her isolation and the need to build a team of supportive connections so that Krista could achieve permanency (finding a safe, stable, emotionally secure parenting relationship).

“The social workers asked, ‘Who’s important in your life? Who’s made a difference?’ That’s when I mentioned my coach,” Krista said.

Through Plummer’s process of youth-guided, family-driven teaming, our social workers discovered Krista’s strong connection with Mrs. Grant: her favorite middle school gym teacher and lacrosse coach.

From the moment they had met, Mrs. Grant looked past Krista’s acts of defiance. She recognized that Krista was processing her emotions and needed a positive outlet to redirect her anger. She encouraged her to join the lacrosse team—an invitation that ignited Krista’s love of sports.

Years later, when Plummer’s social workers reached out to Mrs. Grant, she was so excited to reconnect with Krista and be a part of her life once again. During their initial meeting, she brought photos from Krista’s early days on the team. Children in foster care often lose track of pictures from their younger years as an unfortunate result of their constant transitions from home to home. Krista felt overwhelmed with happiness to see that someone cared enough to hold onto photos and share them with her.

Mrs. Grant agreed to stay involved in permanency planning for Krista and became a member of her team to map out the steps toward a brighter future.

Turning Pain into Something Powerful

A veteran of the armed forces, Mrs. Grant played a key influence on Krista’s decision to join the Army at age 19. Krista became inspired by her stories of comradery and heroism during her tour, and after visiting an old military base on Winter Island. She was drawn to the idea of people from all different backgrounds working together on the same platoon—sharing rations, fighting together, lifting each other up during boot camp and beyond. Everyone was working towards a single, common goal: protect our nation.

“I wanted to turn my pain into something powerful,” Krista explains. “The Army was my calling, a place for me to become something bigger than myself and help my country.”

While Krista was going through basic training, she looked forward to her weekly phone calls with Mrs. Grant. Basic training proved to be hard work, but Krista enjoyed the challenge and Mrs. Grant continued to cheer her on, just like she did during lacrosse games.

In November, Krista finally had the chance to make the long trip home to Massachusetts. She brought Mrs. Grant to tears with a surprise visit—just in time for the holidays!

Having a network of supporters and someone to call makes a huge difference in a foster child’s life. Krista feels so thankful for her connection with Mrs. Grant and for finding deep meaning through service to our country!