Wasilla students win awards for business, fine arts

WASILLA — Two young women are starting to see the fruits of their labor both as volunteers and paid employees on the local level.

At a ceremony March 28, the Spirit of Youth organization, dedicated to recognizing and fostering hard-working, young leaders around the state, awarded scholarships to 22 Alaska youth in 11 categories: Service to Community, Overcoming Challenges, Science and Environment, Cultural Pursuits, Fine Arts, Media and Technology, Business and Government, Lifesaver and Prevention, Faith-based Service, Service to Children and Service to Peers.

Burchell High School graduate Kyra Hoenack and Mat-Su Central School sophomore Nadia Makitrina were the only two Valley students recognized.

For their development of Steamdriven Boutique — the steampunk-themed, second-hand clothing store owned by MY House — Hoenack won the Spirit of Youth award in the Business category, and Makitrina was the runner up in the Fine Arts category.

Both young women originally came to MY House to help homeless youth in the area, but at the time, they didn’t know what that would look like.

After graduating high school when she was 16, Hoenack transitioned from a student volunteer at Burchell’s in-house coffee shop to assistant manager at MY House’s Gathering Grounds Café (which shares a building with the boutique and the car detailing service “Car Deets,” also owned by MY House).

At first she was afraid she wouldn’t know how to be an assistant manager, never having worked in a managerial position — under her older brother, no less — but she soon found her qualifications were not the issue.

“I got kinda bored of it,” Hoenack admitted.

She wanted to continue serving homeless youth with MY House, but in a different capacity more suited to her skills and goals. This led her to become the MY House resource manager. In that position she received and organized donations and acted as the go-to person for hygiene kits and laundry services for teens.

But Hoenack wanted to do more. She approached MY House founder and Executive Director Michelle Overstreet with the idea for a used-clothing boutique, since they had “such an abundance” of clothing.

When Overstreet hesitated over the time commitment, Hoenack said, “don’t worry, I’ll do it.”

So Overstreet said “go for it.”

Three months and many hours of sorting and sewing later, with the help of Special Santa Program CEO Mary Jo Parks and many other volunteers, Steamdriven was born.

Part of the reason for the name comes from the steampunk style, which Hoenack said makes it easier to repurpose clothes — having a theme kind of jumpstarts the creative process, she said. But “steamdriven” also pays homage to the work ethic of the MY House employees and volunteers.

“Honestly, I think I had it easy (starting the business) because we had so many volunteers,” Hoenack said. “Everybody around here is so empowered and driven to help out and be a part of the community.”

When Hoenack heard she had received the Spirit of Youth award, she was surprised, but glad to have an opportunity to thank those who helped her along the way at the awards ceremony.

What Hoenack was “most proud of,” though, was that Makitrina also received an award.

“Her first job has been with me, and it feels really good to be able to say that I had her as an employee, (because) I know what she’s capable of,” Hoenack said.

When Makitrina came on the scene, her brother and sister were working at the café. Through them, she heard about a sewing class being taught there, and jumped on the opportunity to try something new and network with the MY House volunteers.

“I did not know how to sew at all, I did not know how to work a sewing machine … (but) I really had a passion to learn,” Makitrina said.

She’d never heard of the steampunk style either, but now she repurposes clothes to fit that theme and be sold out of the boutique. Most recently, she tailored a vintage wedding dress — provided by Diane Tresham from Arctic Rose Bridal Salon in Wasilla — to fit the 19th-century industrial look. Melissa Bentley modeled the dress in the Valley Arts Alliance’s Wearable Art Show in February.

“The community is really supportive (of the boutique),” Makitrina said. “They bring in donations every day.”

And those donations don’t always end up steampunked. Makitrina said they have plenty of clothes to choose from that are appropriate for formal interviews, casual outings and more, to fit both job requirements and personal tastes.

While anyone can come in and purchase items from the boutique, it’s specially designed for the teenage clients of MY House. Once assigned to a case manager, homeless youth are provided with shopping vouchers to use in the store.

So far, the shop has been a success. Steamdriven is still backlogged with donations, but soon they will be expanding into the Car Deets space, as that business relocates to Palmer.

Bailey’s Furniture also recently donated more than $22,000 worth of furniture to be repurposed and sold out of the boutique. The expansion and addition of furniture to the boutique will not only give teens affordable options for furnishing their future homes, Hoenack said, but provide jobs to anyone who applies through the Nine-Star program.

Hoenack and Makitrina received $2,000 and $700 college scholarships, respectively, with their awards. Hoenack is currently studying at Mat-Su College to become an EMT, while working full time.

Makitrina also hopes to attend college in the future and continue the work she’s begun.

“I just want to benefit the world for the better,” she said. “I wanna leave this world knowing that I did something big and helped or inspired someone.”

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.