Ethan serves as a youth leader, supporter, and role model for his peers, fellow classmates, and other youth in the small community of Shaktoolik. He provides counseling to his peers in need and is a subsistence provider for his family and elders.
Tel is the youth liaison for the Anchorage Community of Special Olympics Alaska where he communicates with his peers and learns how individuals with intellectual disabilities are viewed by the younger members of our community. Not only is he a leader among his peers but he’s also a mentor and friend to all the Special Olympic athletes.
Sadie is deeply involved in keeping her Alutiiq culture alive. She promotes her heritage through dance, song, language and sewing. She also serves on Kodiak Teen Court and assists young children at an early learning program. She has proven an asset to her community by helping youth, peers and elders.
Lane is always willing to lend a hand to people in need from shoveling elder’s driveways to assisting stranded vehicles. He has spent countless hours working toward his certification for structure firefighting. He also loves to DJ and entertains his schoolmates with his lunch time beats. He is the A/V extraordinaire at his school and helps with the technical aspects of many school events.
Courtney is dedicated to serving her community. Whether she’s helping out at an animal shelter or feeding needy families during the holidays, she always makes time for others.
Taylor has a passion both for ballet and biotechnology. As a dancer she works with younger students and teaches techniques at local elementary schools. In the field of science, she works with younger students at her school to share information about biotechnology. She has also spent three years developing a simple way to test for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
Al participated in the Association of Alaska School Boards’ Youth Leadership Institute where he developed and practiced skills to maintain a strong youth voice to use in his school and community. He connected with peers from across the state and was part of conversations with board members at the AASB annual conference.
Shawn is an active member of his church and mentors children age 3-16. He volunteers with Wasilla’s MyHouse, a homeless youth program and has dedicated countless hours to service within his community. Shawn’s kindness, strong work ethic and integrity makes him a role model to his peers.
Caleb is an invaluable assistant to his brother’s non-profit, Kindness for Kids, which creates and distributes small pillows for hospitalized children across the U.S. He helps every step of the way from transporting supplies to sewing and stuffing pillows. He has also participated in several service projects with his scout troop.
Destyne participates in the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s culture camp, where she has helped in conducting mapping and research on archaeological sites in the Kenai area. She is a leader and mentor to the other campers and loves to work with the Tribe’s Tyotkas Elder Program. Destyne bridges a generational knowledge gap between elders and youth.
Allison and Ariana worked to provide specially designed grocery carts for Sitka’s grocery stores. These carts allow families who would normally need to navigate through the store pushing a wheelchair and a shopping cart the freedom to safely transport their child through the store in a cart.
Logan is part of a pregnancy prevention program, where he shares information with his peers to help decrease the risk of teen pregnancies. Throughout his two years of involvement he has shared ideas and feedback to help his peers and peer educators.
Sophie is the leader of the Pregnancy Prevention Program at Colony High. She shares information with her peers to help decrease the risk of teen pregnancies and increase awareness around STDs, domestic violence and effects of drug and alcohol use.
Meryem was chair of Fairbanks Youth Advocates’ fundraising event “One Homeless Night,” where community members built cardboard shelters and spent the night outside in order to raise awareness around homelessness.
Dougie volunteers with Holland America, Princess Tours and the Student Conservation Association. He helps homeless people by giving them clothes and always puts others before himself.
Analicia Castaneda, Korbyn Powers, Deanna Hobbs, Justin Sleppy, Addisohn Jones, Calvin Zuelow were central in creating a digital story promoting healthy relationships, healthy sexuality, and nonviolence. They led interviews, edited footage and put together the final production.
Keahi led a Teen Buckle Up campaign at his school. He created banners,posters and a mascot; composed a buckle-up jingle and inspired a diverse group of students to spread the word about seat belt safety. Keahi went above the required activities of the campaign by bringing heightened awareness of teen driving concerns to students through peer to peer outreach.
Jessika teaches youth in her community traditional skills such as skin sewing and game processing. She also was integral in organizing a youth softball program in Kotzebue. Jessika is proud to represent her region and makes sure the youth voice of her community is heard statewide.
Reanna is on the Alaska Association of Student Governments Executive Board and is highly involved in student government. She has led events at her high school to help create a healthier environment and has created leadership conferences that involves all the students in her town.
Travis is devoted to serving his community. He is part of the group Students of Kodiak Island Learning to Lead, which went to Hawaii this past May for World Indigenous Conference on Education. Travis also helps the elders of Akhiok with everything from butchering subsistence food to pumping their heating fuel.
