PA Cyber Senior Celebrates Early Graduation with Tribute to First Responders

October 16, 2025

As she nears her high school graduation—two years early—Kadie is showing PA Cyber pride through a heartfelt community service project: creating 100 care packages for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. Coming from a first responder family, she knows firsthand how hard these professionals work. Her mother is a retired firefighter, and her father is an EMT who worked through COVID.

“I didn't get to see my dad a lot [during the pandemic],” Kadie recalls. “Sometimes he and his fellow workers couldn't even stop to get lunch or dinner. So I wanted to give back and do something that not only represents the school, but also me.”

Kadie designed graphics for the bags and had them printed with an EMS symbol on the front, and the words “EMS: The Invisible Heroes” on the back. Each bag contains hygiene and grooming items, Tylenol, a carabiner, and gift cards for coffee shops and gas stations. She paid for everything by completing chores and yardwork last summer. Later this month, she will gift the bags to the Lehigh Valley Health Network EMS in Hazleton.

The Perfect Fit

This spring, Kadie will graduate from high school two years early due to her working ahead in asynchronous courses. She’s been enrolled in PA Cyber since kindergarten, and the flexibility has allowed her to pursue subjects that align with her interests. She says, “At PA Cyber, I am the puzzle piece that always fits.”

Kadie, who has autism spectrum disorder and experiences anxiety, has thrived in PA Cyber’s self-paced environment. “PA Cyber was the only fit for her,” says her mother, Robin. “She has thrived and learned so much that a brick-and-mortar school could never do for her. She loves the Wilkes-Barre facility and the welcoming environment. She never feels left out.”

As she thought about her favorite teachers and staff, she named her Academic Advisor Ellen Quinn “because she believes in me and knows I can do anything I put my mind to,” Kadie says.

Her older brother, Eddie, was the first in their family to enroll at PA Cyber after a troubling incident with a school district. In kindergarten, his teacher put him in the hallway as punishment, and he left school without the staff noticing, walking six blocks to a family member’s home. Soon after, someone mentioned “a new school alternative.” Eddie was enrolled, and Kadie followed suit once she was school age.

Embracing Superpowers

Kadie and her family view her autism as a strength because it enables her to focus deeply and devour information. “We don't call her autism an issue,” Robin says. “We call it her superpower.”

Those superpowers have helped her excel in academics and beyond. She successfully competed in a statewide stock market challenge, a simulated game for students. She saw exceptional results while in elementary school, and afterward her grandfather gifted her $500 to invest as she liked. Her mother says Kadie’s portfolio today could cover the cost of college and a house, but for now it’s just cushion. “She’s very good with it,” Robin says. “She watches not only the numbers, but the patterns.”

Her focus also shines in her love for hockey—a family favorite. She can recite rosters of several NHL and AHL teams from memory, and as a member of her local AHL affiliate, she makes scrapbooks and bakes holiday cookies for players. She taught herself French at age seven so she could talk with players, and she is a skilled ice skater.

After graduation, Kadie plans to attend college to become a teacher or graphic designer. She received early acceptance to Thomas Jefferson University and Southern New Hampshire University. Art is her greatest passion—one she shares with her mother, who owns a graphic design business that Kadie helps with.

No matter which path she chooses, Kadie’s curiosity, kindness, and dedication promise a bright future for herself—and for those around her.