Before joining at Sunburst in 2013, Spence first interned as a student at the University of Southern California.

“I just fell in love with the program,” she said. “Everybody here is so passionate about these kids. As an intern, I started paying attention to the staff around me, and I thought, ‘I really want to work someplace where the people are passionate about their clients,’ because basically, we work for the kids.” 

Spence now supervises the Master's of Social Work interns from Cal State Long Beach and USC. 

“Another reason I wanted to work here is seeing the kids from the beginning through to graduation and just seeing the transformation…It’s really amazing,” she said.

Spence shared an account of one student who attended the program.

“He was the oldest of five, being raised by mom and grandma, and they were basically homeless," she said. "During the admissions interview, I asked him what his long- and short-term goals were, and he didn’t have any. He didn’t think he was going anywhere. He then came in and happened to be assigned to me for weekly counseling. So, we started talking every week, and he really started to grow and blossom. He really dug in and started to hold on to the program and get everything he could out of it."

“By the end of the cycle, he turned 18, got his high school diploma with us, and a case manager got him enrolled in community college," Spence continued. "He came back and visited a few weeks later and shared he was getting ready to start his first job. I thought ‘Wow! And this was the kid who had no thought past tomorrow…wow. That was really one of the hooks for me. I saw that transformation from the very beginning.”

“It’s such a great program,” she said. “It’s one of those best-kept secrets and it’s so beneficial for kids who have gotten behind in credits and need the structure and discipline.”