"I had the pleasure of working with Shakati Walsh for several years at Mattole Valley Charter School, where Shakati served as the School Guidance Counselor while I was teaching high school classes at one of Mattole's outlying sites: Three Rivers Learning Center. During that time, she single-handedly developed and managed a wonderful support system for high school students which provided them with the information and guidance in decision making that they need in order to equitably access, not only a college preparatory curriculum and program for their high school education but also to equitably access the college application and career planning process.

     Shakati's efforts were extremely successful.  When I first began working at MVCS, an extremely rural charter school in northern California, the program had developed without a clear road map or vision for its high school students or the educational program. Within one school year of Shakati's joining our team, she had created order out of chaos, networking all of us together, aligning our goals and vision for the students, and developing for the first time a truly college-bound culture throughout our school.

      Shakati's many accomplishments included creating a school-wide course list, establishing criteria for our course offerings, creating a website with a plethora of support information such as available scholarships and deadlines for financial aid applications, creating and implementing training workshops for crucial college-bound events such as the completing and filing of the FAFSA and the Cal Grant, submitting course syllabi for approval with the UC system, and playing an important role in our WASC accreditation renewal process. Shakati's energy is contagious, and it is evident in the teamwork which ensued among the staff. Her ability to build rapport with all of us made these accomplishments possible.  This rapport she built with the staff extended to the students as well and was evident in the close relationships she worked to establish and maintain with all of our students.

     She was able to draw out students, challenging them at the same time that she encouraged them while inspiring in them the courage to dream of a career that would give them the ability to make the most of their skills and assets, and the courage to tackle their dreams no matter how daunting the obstacles. She engaged with all of those she collaborated with on many levels, including as that of mentor and friend, often remembering students by name despite the fact that she worked with hundreds of students, spread out at learning centers in five adjacent counties.

      My students often commented after one of her visits that she seemed eternally cheerful and full of energy that is contagious — that they couldn't help but be inspired to trust her; one could immediately recognize how deeply committed she is to help the students achieve success in all aspects of their lives.”