Ana G. Rizzo
Oro Valley, AZ
Canyon Del Oro High School
Graduation Year: 2008

Anna has been tutoring children, both as an independent and as a volunteer with different organizations, since she was 13. She began tutoring grades K through 5. When she entered high school, she worked with friends’ siblings and family friends. This effort expanded to include working with educationally disadvantaged children at a homeless shelter that helps families get back on their feet. After completing college, Ana plans to become a teacher.

Whitney Welch
Bonne Terre, MO
North St. Francois High School
Graduation Year: 2009

After hearing that 2 local children had been kidnapped, Whitney created W.A.S.P. (the Whistle Awareness Safety Program) to prevent child abduction and abuse. She developed a presentation to teach stranger awareness and whistle safety to elementary and intermediate students; and obtained funding through grants to purchase whistles to give out to the children who attended. She also got the support of local schools, the Sheriff’s department, and the media, and ultimately handed out 1200 whistles in her school district. She is now seeking to expand the program into surrounding areas.

Timothy Isiah White
Columbia, SC
Dreher High School
Graduation Year: 2009

As President of the 4-H Earthwalkers, Timothy recruited members to volunteer as a group to serve dinner at the local Salvation Army to families and single individuals of all ages each month. This project is dear to Timothy’s heart because he, himself, was homeless for a few months. He states: “When I was down on my luck the people at the Salvation Army and Harvest Hope were there for me. For those reasons, and the joy that it gives me, I believe it would be flat out immoral if I did not return the favor to others. . . . [H]omelessness . . . does not discriminate, and it can happen to anyone. . . . I shall continue doing my part in stopping hunger. . . .”

Yibin Zhang
Belle Meade, NJ
Montgomery High School
Graduation Year: 2009

Yibin has initiated several projects at her school to enhance environmental awareness and advocate sustainability to her classmates. She wants to drive the message home that recycling is less energy efficient than reducing consumption and reusing materials. She set up a used-shoe collection for the Nike reuse-a-sneaker program and held a school-wide challenge to collect plastic caps for recycling. Because she feels it is very difficult to break students of bad habits after the ninth grade, she started SWEEP (Students for Wildlife, Environmental and Ecological Protection), a club that educates, informs, and inspires middle school students to take action against environmental change. She says, “My goal is to make this . . . club attractive to students, effective in communicating its message, and sustainable for years to come.”

Ruth Ackah
Groves, TX
Memorial High School
Graduation Year: 2010

As president of Umoja, Ruth initiated and managed a city-wide “Unity Night” to promote diversity, multicultural awareness and appreciation among the many ethnic groups in her community . Volunteers of all ages were enlisted to showcase their talents and cultures, and contributors shared ethnic food . ”Unity Night” was so well-received that a second program, “Multicultural Night” was initiated the following spring. Both events have been held annually for the past 4 years. Ruth asserts, “I have seen a great deal of progression toward cultural tolerance and respect . . . since the initiative . . . began, and I am proud of the strides we are making as a community.”