2023 Hamilton Scholar Catherine Stanish, an immigrant to the United States, is a highly motivated, dedicated student with a strong connection to community. Through her experiences, she has seen immense growth and is excited to be a part of the Hamilton Scholars community. Catherine's achievements are fueled by her interest in gaining skills to give back to the communities that have given so much to her.

Catherine is most proud of her work at Selah Textiles (selahtextiles.org), a social enterprise she helped start and where she currently serves as a Lead Associate. Through Selah Textiles, Catherine has taught fellow young, female immigrants and women from under-resourced populations life skills through printing and selling textiles. Catherine and her friend, 2022 Hamilton Scholar Elise Zeigler, started Selah during Catherine’s freshman year of high school; together, they directly empower her community of St. Louis – something she’s proud to be a part of.. Through Selah, she has formed lasting friendships with fellow hard-working young women and gained skills in teaching, management, and entrepreneurship.

In addition to her work at Selah, Catherine is involved in several other community and extracurricular activities. As a volunteer with Christian Friends of New America’s (CFNA) after-school tutoring program, Catherine helps young refugee and immigrant students with their school work – also offering to be a friend to whom they can relate and talk to. She enjoys giving to others in St. Louis and looks to grow her skills in teaching for her future career.

Catherine is also a part of her church's leadership team which organizes all events for middle-high school youth in her church community. As a freshman, Catherine worked with her peers to construct a panel of high schoolers who are passionate about community service. She has been an organizer for several outreach events, and she hopes to be the youth intern at her church for her senior year of high school so that she can become more involved in the organizations that have shaped her life.

Catherine aspires to become a Cardiologist who not only works to help people in the hospital, but also by doing outreach in the community. These ambitions are what empower her to be involved in her communities. Her inspiration for becoming a doctor came after her grandfather’s passing. She wants to make him and her family proud and become an impactful leader in her future communities.