It is an uplifting moment for the family of a young Sandy Hook school shooting victim, as Chase Kowalski’s older sister steps into a new role to keep her brother’s legacy alive.
Rebecca Kowalski announced Thursday that her oldest daughter, Brittany, will be the new executive director of the Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski Memorial Foundation, created to honor the 6-year-old who lost his life in the shooting.
Brittany Kowalski enters the position with a heart full of passion, and her parents at her side.
“It’s something that I’ve always tried to find a way to do,” Kowalski said, speaking exclusively to NBC Connecticut in her first-ever sit-down interview.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“It’s overwhelming, but in the best way. It’s something, I've kind of expected to do. I was 13 when everything happened, so I kind of have always had a part in the foundation. But I didn't think that it was ever going to be this big for me,” she said.
Her entire life, Kowalski has kept her little brother close to her heart.
“I have his ashes in the dragonfly tattoo on my chest, and then I have his handwriting [tattooed]. I always carry him with me in everything that I do,” she said.
Kowalski also holds close many happy memories with her younger brother, of playing games, riding dirt bikes, and doing photo shoots.
“We used to do so much,” she said. “I was obsessed with like the runway shows. So I used to make him and my sister Erin go outside and model for me. I would take photos because that's one of my passions is photography, and our logo is actually a photo that I took of Chase.”
Those photos are now treasures.
“It's one of those things, I was so thankful that I did, because we have so many, so many photos with Chase,” Kowalski said.
When she remembers Chase, she thinks of a little best friend, one she lost too far young.
“It really kind of just shakes up your whole world,” Kowalski said. “At such a pivotal point of growing up, it's kind of difficult to deal with. So I've been very lucky that we've had an amazing support system.”
A support system that Kowalski has found in 10 years of the CMAK Foundation.
Through partnerships with area YMCAs, the CMAK Foundation holds an annual camp, where kids learn to swim, bike, and run, then compete in a triathlon called Race4Chase.
“The program itself has made such a huge impact on so many people and kids, but not just the kids, their families as well,” Kowalski said. “Through Chase, we're going to change the world.”
The family credits their “CEO in the sky,” but Kowalski’s mother Rebecca thinks with her daughter’s involvement, the sky is now the limit.
“I know, she'll soar,” Rebecca Kowalski said. “Then, you know, we have the possibility of her sister coming in and working together, when they're both ready. They have the potential to take this from a very small foundation to nationwide.”
The Kowalski family is smiling as they face the future, knowing their triathlon training program has changed the lives of more than 5,000 young athletes, and upheld the memory of one very special little boy.
“As an older sister, it's always something that you want to do for your siblings, you always want them to be a part of your life, life, even when you're going through those rough teenage years where you don't want to deal with anybody,” Brittany Kowalski said. “I was lucky enough that I didn't really have that with Chase. There was never a time that we didn't want to spend time with him because he was just so much fun and so easy to be around. So keeping his legacy alive is one of the most important things.”
You can learn more about the CMAK Foundation and Race4Chase online. This year the program is running in five states including Connecticut.
