Wendy Norris is the head athletic trainer at DeMatha Catholic High School. Her passion to serve stems from the memory of one of her students, a Navy SEAL, who was killed in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.  In August 2021, the Taliban overthrew the government of Afghanistan. Searching for a way to help those who served alongside her student, Wendy signed up to volunteer with the 探花精选.   

In her three years of volunteering, Wendy packed care kits and backpacks for refugee youth, delivered clothes and food to refugees and now mentors an Afghan family through the 探花精选鈥檚 family mentor program. The family mentor program matches recently arrived refugee families with volunteers who help refugees learn English and better integrate into their new community.    

Two women sitting next to one another
Photo: Wendy Norris, 探花精选 volunteer

Wendy says that mentoring a newly arrived refugee family has been humbling - Wendy鈥檚 mentees worked in journalism in Afghanistan but were unable to do the same work in the U.S. due to a language barrier and the cost of going back to school in the U.S. Wendy says: 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think most Americans understand how challenging it is when refugees come here and you don鈥檛 speak the language and you鈥檙e from a different culture. Everything鈥檚 new and you have to start from the beginning. And it鈥檚 hard.鈥 - Wendy Norris

Since the mentorship began six months ago, Wendy has seen her mentees鈥 English skills improve considerably through regular practice, and even secured them a donated television to become more comfortable listening to conversational English. When her mentees were laid off from their jobs, Wendy assisted them in revising their resumes and went door to door with her mentees to speak to employers. Through Wendy鈥檚 tireless efforts, her mentees were able to secure new positions that offered them improved pay and better job security.   

Reflecting on her experience, Wendy says she has built deeper bonds with her own community, having recruited her network at DeMatha Catholic High School to provide donations to her mentees and other refugees in the community.  Although the mentor program will end soon, Wendy plans to continue to meet with her mentees who she now considers her friends. When asked what advice Wendy would give to people interested in volunteering, Wendy shared: 

鈥淧ut your fears, culture and religion aside and realize that we鈥檙e all the same.  We鈥檙e all human and we need to be there for each other.鈥 - Wendy Norris