Alumni Spotlight: Krista Foster Sees Diversity as Memphis’ Biggest Asset

“All my school years before college were through M.O.S.T. Scholarships, from Pre-K 4 through high school. This opportunity helped my family a lot, and I got a better education than I might have, which set me up for success later,” said Krista Foster, a M.O.S.T. Scholarship alumnus who now serves as a patient care associate with a hospital system in Cincinnati, working remotely from Memphis.

Though she grew up in the Baptist faith, her family chose Catholic school for Krista, and with the help of a needs-based M.O.S.T. Scholarship, she enrolled at St. Therese Little Flower Primary School for the 2002-2003 academic year. From there, she moved on to De La Salle Elementary, and graduated from Immaculate Conception Cathedral School in 2016. It was in these schools that she grew increasingly aware of the rich diversity of Memphis and its vibrant neighborhoods, and began thinking about ways to cooperate with others to lift our communities up.

“Going to a Catholic school caused my faith to grow deeper because I got to see a different side of- and a different approach to- religion,” she said. “These schools were also very diverse, which caused me to think about our world and about Memphis differently.”

Active in the Girl Scouts from a young age, Krista branched out in high school, participating in the BRIDGES youth leadership development program, serving as a student ambassador for her school, and editing Immaculate Conception’s school paper, The Immaculata.

After high school, she earned a degree through course work at the University of Memphis and Concord Career College, entering the working world just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. After a stint at an accounting office, she found her calling in healthcare and landed the Cincinnati-based position.

She says her status as a remote worker has its pros and cons, but she’s adjusted to the increasingly common lifestyle of digital work in the 21st century.

“I like the people I work I work with, and I love our patients. My team members do a great job of making me feel engaged in the conversation,” she said. “We're always messaging back and forth and it can feel like you're in the office, but at the same time, you're comfortable, you're at home, you’re in pajamas from the waist down.”

But the biggest upside is staying in Memphis, the city she loves with a burning passion.

“I grew up here. I was born here and my family's here and I love everything about Memphis,” she said. “There are great things in Memphis, and there are also some not-so-great things in our city. But they can be changed, and I feel that the seeds of that change are planted through education and learning more about the different people who live here.”

Grateful for her education experience, she wants opportunities in quality education to grow for Memphis-area students, and she sees M.O.S.T. as a major player in that space.

“If you love Memphis and believe in the potential of the children of our city, you should support programs that encourage kids to see beyond their own small neighborhood or community, and understand how all the communities can benefit each other and improve our whole community together,” she said.

“That's what my school life was like. My school journey taught me that whatever we're doing wrong, we can find ways to change it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to understand that what M.O.S.T. Scholarships do is not just about helping our communities grow through education. They also help our children love more, which is what Memphis needs.”