Catriona’s selfless commitment to local and global humanitarian needs is a stellar example of youth leadership. A Ketchikan High School student, Catriona’s efforts have reached as far away as Tanzania, and as close as the Pioneer Home.
Ayla is committed to helping her peers gain a larger understanding of Indigenous cultures, practices, and issues as a president of Chugiak High School’s Indigenous Club. She is also a leader within the school’s Key Club, dedicating her spare time toward service of the community.
Bianca is a teen volunteering powerhouse. Involved with activities in the greater Anchorage area for years, Bianca fills volunteering roles for community organizations. She is respected for her various responsibilities, and takes on these tasks with pride, diligence, a positive attitude, and serious commitment.
Bianca is a highly-recruited volunteer. One of her regular activities is spending time at a local non-profit organization that supports parents of children living with special needs. The organization depends on Bianca to volunteer for events as a positive example to other youth and their families. Bianca truly enjoys sharing her love of volunteerism with peers, encouraging other teens in the community to give back of their time and talents.
Bianca’s nominator says “She is a joy and inspiration to be around and as an agency we have come to rely on Bianca for her support, energy, ideas, influence and support.”
Shannon McCarty lives in Metlakatla in Southeast Alaska, a small community where Tsimshian traditions are a foundation of daily life. Shannon is a well-respected caregiver for local children, even encouraging her peers to become babysitters so that other families of Metlakatla will have safe, responsible childcare services for their youngsters. Shannon is also a student-teacher leader for the community’s Vacation Bible School each summer, sharing her compassion and faith with local kids. A member of her high school’s dance group Fourth Generation, Shannon performs regularly as a proud member of the Tsimshian, modeling always the values of respect and caring for others.
Emil Lopez believes that all young people deserve to be heard, and he’s working to bring awareness and solutions to amplify the youth voice in Alaska. A keynote speaker for a recent youth summit, Emil brings to the table an awareness of and solutions for the role of young citizens. A student at Bettye Davie East High School in Anchorage, Emil works very hard and has high goals, and participates in additional rigorous programs that provide him many opportunities for postsecondary education. Emil is an obvious inspiration to our student body and was voted Homecoming King in 2022. Emil’s nominator said, “Emil is a student who works hard, treats others with respect, is kind, and a great friend to many in our school.”
Adreanna both participates in and volunteers with the Fairbanks arts community through dance and performance. She uses her talents to speak up and motivate others to live creatively. Adreanna often travels for performances, and has won awards while representing various Alaska dance companies. She also volunteers her time to the dance community, performs at local charity events, and is a volunteer teacher of younger dance students. It can be difficult for youth in Fairbanks to find an outlet for creativity, but Adreanna works hard to advocate for the power of the arts while also setting an example of what can happen when a youth is given the right opportunities to flourish and motivate others.
Kinley takes her role as a student-athlete seriously as a member of the University of Alaska Fairbanks volleyball team. But playing the sport isn’t her only goal. Since she was a high school player in North Pole, Kinley has taken time to work with younger players through camps, volleyball clubs, and at local middle schools. This, she believes, offers others interested in volleyball the chance to be positively mentored, and hopefully play into the future, even if they come from a much smaller Alaska community. Kinley’s nominator said “Kinley ensures everyone they are important and seen,” building up confidence for the future student-athletes as a leader, confidant, and role model.
Max took initiative to refurbish Seward’s only outdoor basketball court as a recreational gathering place for older youth. He organized a group of volunteers to replace the aging cement court with a new play surface, raising funds and gathering donations from local businesses to complete the project. Max took on fundraising and business donations, and in the end a volunteer crew to paint the new surface, making the Seward community a better place to live and play. Without his constant push to make the court something the community would find valuable, Max and his friends, family, and fans found ways to make a forgotten court better.
Camylle loves fashion design and is an incredibly gifted seamstress. She has been designing and creating her own clothes for some time. She has been able to make soft toys for children. Camylle is an inspiration. Her sewing machine skills and eye for fashion are advanced beyond her years. She has started to sell a few of her items and is on the cusp of launching a business.
Keirstin plays basketball, runs, is taking a Tlingit class and creates amazing artwork. She stays focused on herself, but is always willing to help others. She has had some struggles with her health, which led to her dealing with challenging anxiety that kept her out of the classroom at times. However, she always returns to class and picks up where she left off. This led to her recently being placed in an advanced class, where she initially struggled, but ultimately persevered and is overcoming challenges.
In 2021, Lillian played a critical role in the development of the Amplify Youth Voices Alaska project. The project focused on enveloping youth in creative ways to share messages of hope, encouragement and innovations to keep everyone safe. Lillian created social media content, developed the artist theme prompts, developed the ambassador letter, created a logo for the logo design competition, designed a majority of the online and guidebook content and assisted with workshops.
Katrina is in her first year serving as both a TRIO Leadership Committee member and as a mentor for new students in TRIO. TRIO Upward Bound is a college prep program for students who have the potential to be first generation college students and/or of limited income households. Most recently, Katrina helped spearhead a community service project where she helped collect diapers and wipes for Afghanistan refugees newly settled into Anchorage.
Keaton has a strong presence in life and in the classroom. He leads by example, treating others with kindness and reminding them to be respectful when they are struggling. He’s a positive leader, encourages others to stay on task and complete their work. Not only has he had various struggles in his life that most his age have not had to deal with, he continues to be positive and maintains straight A’s in his classes.
Ethan participates in art, jazz, baseball, wrestling and is currently a soccer referee. He received 3rd place in state wrestling and has attended soccer tournaments. Despite his successes, he is still modest, stoic and humble. He helps others by sharing all that he has, helping those in need after having been bullied.
Ayla is very involved in her community and school programs. She plays in band, soccer and has her own chickens that she raises and sells the chicken eggs. She brings positivity into the classroom, takes pride in her work, models inclusivity, unselfishness, modesty, kindness, caring and support for her fellow students and teachers.
When a fire destroyed her hometown theater, where she had performed since she was five, Katie sprung into action. She spent this last summer and fall creating original paintings and selling them on the sidewalk in front of her house. She sold and then donated over $600 to the rebuilding efforts. Additionally, she collected thousands of dollars soliciting donations in front of grocery stores and at Wednesday markets in a local park.
An academic leader in the classroom, Harrison leads groups and helps classmates who are struggling. Taking all core classes in the challenging International Baccalaureate program, he maintains a 4.1 GPA. He also tutors his football teammates. This year, he was on the Varsity Football team, and just joined the basketball team. He will be on the track team in the Spring.
When Emaline was 13, she started a nonprofit called Duchess Foundation. The nonprofit provides feminine products to school nurses and school districts. She started it when she recognized that her friends needed some help. She turned 16 in February and continues to help her community through the nonprofit.
Malachi is a lead coach at the Alaska Rock Gym. He regularly demonstrates kindness and maturity in helping youth overcome fear of heights and reach their potential. He is patient and observant. He is also the co-captain of the Alaska Rock Gym Climbing Team. He continues to be a role model for the younger athletes.
