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Leading with kindness: Frontier student loves advocacy and helping others

By Kristen Hainkel 3 min read

NEWPORT -- Seventeen-year-old Ka'Laiya Martin of Frontier High School learned to give from her mother.

"My mother has instilled in my brother and I that 'While you may not be able to help everyone, you can always help someone,'" she said.

Martin's most recent donation was to Jess's House in Marietta, a non-profit that provides women struggling with addiction a place to stay. She'd asked the organization about their need; bicycles were one of the options.

"I chose to do the bicycle drive because it isn't something that most would think about as a vital need until it is put into perspective. These bicycles help establish a sense of independence that might otherwise be a struggle," she said.

Martin purchased two of the bicycles with money she saved from her job over the last Christmas season. The remainder was raised from a social media campaign asking for donations. She said she is pleased to provide a valuable resource.

"These bicycles help establish a sense of independence that might otherwise be a struggle. I realize that a bicycle doesn't take the place of a vehicle and is a limited transportation option, but it is an option now for the women of Jess's House," she said.

Martin also thinks of her fellow students. She and members of school group Students Solving Problems collaborated with John Carroll University and AmeriCorps' Corps for Rural Success and Health program to create "Calm Down" boxes to alleviate student stress during state testing.

"The Calm Down Boxes includes different such items as fidgets, lists of mental health resources, small puzzles, guides on calming down, poppers, and more," she said.

Martin secured a donation of 120 fidget poppers for the "Calm Down" boxes.

"Our hope is that these Calm Down boxes will help with destressing option during the high stress times," she said.

When not volunteering, Martin is also involved with advocacy work. In February, she attended In Advocacy Forum & Hill Day in Washington, D.C., as an Autism Speaks Ambassador for Ohio. She attended virtual training prior to attending to learn background information about the legislative process.

For her, the investment was personal. She has autism and drew from her personal experience while meeting with officials.

"Relating my own personal journey of autism helped them better understand the importance of the issues from a different perspective," she said.

During Hill Day, she attended four meetings with representatives of the House and Senate. including Ohio senator Sherrod Brown and representatives in the Hart Senate Office Building.

"I was able to sit down with them to talk about policies, share some of my concerns, and they asked questions about my experiences. It was a fast-paced day filled with wonderful opportunities to learn the advocacy aspect of the legislative process," she said.

Martin said she is proud of her personal progress with understanding autism.

"Learning about my autism and how my perspective can help others understand what that is like living on the spectrum. I can help change the conversation about autism among my peers."

Next year, Martin plans to attend Washington State Community College in addition to finishing at Frontier.

"I am looking forward to college and still seeing what that might look like for me as my senior year progresses. I want to look into criminal justice and psychology programs more. I am leaning toward a career in law enforcement within forensic fields," she said.

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