Emma Garrahay

Inspire was a school that provided a solid foundation for me both academically, socially, and musically. The teachers were highly supportive and I was able to immerse myself in every extra curricular from ASB Leadership to Pop Band to Musical Theatre. At Inspire I always felt safe, supported and an emerging sense of confidence to try new things. Some of the teachers who shaped my path during these years were Jim White and Jarrah Myles who both were deeply committed to student success.

I was at Inspire during some challenging years including the Camp Fire and the pandemic. Despite these setbacks, Inspire never wavered in maintaining high quality opportunities for the students. Inspire supported my desire to do concurrent enrollment classes at Butte College. Before graduating high school in 2022, I was able to complete a huge chunk of college general education courses while getting a full, rich high school experience thanks to Inspire’s support of my goals.

In 2024, I graduated from Chico State with a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Psychology. I was accepted into the CMSD Master’s program at Chico, and am currently studying to become a licensed Speech Language Pathologist. I continue to perform music around the Chico community in my band, Emma & Will and also work as a graduate assistant for the Clinic for Communication Disorders at Chico State.