Honoring the Life and Legacy of our Late MENTOR Colleague, Karina Nova
September 16, 2024
On August 18, 2024, a beloved colleague and friend, Karina Nova passed away. Her loss has had a profound impact on the organization. It is with heavy hearts and deep sorrow that MENTOR shares this news with our larger community. As we reflect on her life, we appreciate the gift of opportunity we all had — a chance to harness working alongside Karina.
A 26-year-old full of life, joy, and hope with a promising future, Karina’s impact and legacy has been forever cemented at MENTOR. Karina was a valued member of MENTOR’s Program Team who first joined MENTOR out of college as a program associate. She showed a lot of leadership potential and moved up to her most recent title of impact project implementation manager. She led work with the National Mentoring Resource Center’s (NMRC) Youth Advisory Council. Karina also oversaw updates to the NMRC website, and oversaw management of various other projects. Those close to her knew that the work was deeply meaningful to Karina. As her mother, Wendy Sosa, noted,“My daughter did enjoy working for the company. She wanted to make a difference in this world. I am so proud of her because she left us with memories of being in her presence.”
Karina made her mark on MENTOR in many ways. As one of her colleagues, Devon Austrie, noted, “The impact she made in and out of the organization, you can’t encapsulate it. “Karina was always pressing the organization to go one step further, to ensure that the young people MENTOR touched were given agency, being treated equally and equitably. She was passionate about meaningful youth engagement and ensuring youth voice and agency, often reminding others of the “Nothing about us, without us” motto in the youth development field. As one of her colleagues, Jen Bourgoin, said, “I will miss Karina’s vibrancy, the way she could talk and relate to anyone, the depth of her mind and the light of her spirit.”
Karina was known as a caring colleague who always checked in on individuals, and brought her passion to the workplace. As colleague Beth Tallarico noted, “She had such energy whether she was telling you a story or talking about work.” She prioritized wellbeing, and made many friends at the organization.“Karina and I started the same day and we did all of our onboarding together,” remembers colleague Gabriela Castillo. “We became really good friends outside of MENTOR.” Another colleague, Jessica Haggett Silverman, noted, “In such a short time, she had such a tremendous impact. Her energy and ability to connect was much bigger than any Zoom box can convey.”
Karina was a 2021 graduate of Boston University where she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. A passion to make a difference led the Woonsocket, Rhode Island resident to stay in the Boston area and take a full-time position at MENTOR. She impacted the lives of young people across the country, and made a lasting impact on everyone she worked with.“Karina was an absolute light. She made everything around her better,” stated Rachel Bennett, a colleague.
One of her greatest strengths was her curiosity to learn and ask “why,” never settling for the face value of why decisions were made. She sought to understand the human side of all thought processes and limitations. Known as a caring colleague who always checked in on individuals, we look ahead to the work Karina loved, working with our Affiliates and partners to expand the mentoring movement, always mindful that we center and authentically engage those that our work touches, as Karina often reminded us.
