H-F Student Wins Bank Of America Award For Community Service

FLOSSMOOR, IL — Everybody knows that when girls go to prom, they get done — makeup, hair and nails. When Maya Harrell realized her classmates at her Lake Forest boarding school with ethnic skin and hair didn't have access to the professionals they needed — and couldn't get done — she made it happen. She brought the stylists to the school and persuaded the dean to cover most of the expenses.

That bold plan — not to mention her tenacity — is one of the reasons she was chosen as a Bank of America 2019 Student Leader. The Homewood-Flossmoor High School senior was one of 283 high school students nationwide, and one of five in Chicago, to chosen for the award. It is designed for teens who are passionate about improving the community, and gives them an opportunity to build workforce and leadership skills through a national leadership summit in Washington, D.C., and a paid summer nonprofit internship. For Maya, that internship was at the Ford Heights Boys & Girls Club, where she designed programming for at-risk youth.

Steve Adamczyk, who leads Bank of America's local student program, explained why Maya stood out. "One of the things we ask on the application is 'who is your role model' and most kids will say 'my mom or my dad,'" he said. "But she saw it was the committeeman she worked for who inspired her to continue serving her community. It was a pretty good and insightful answer."

The committeman is Calvin Jordan of Rich Township, who hired her as an intern. His dedication to his constituents impressed her, Maya, 17, said.

"If he could touch a life or help a person, he did it," she said.

And it was because of that, Maya said, she decided to try to live her life in the same way. By any measure, she is.

For example, before she transferred to H-F, Maya attended Lake Forest Academy. It was there she saw the need for appropriate services for students of color, and used her leadership skills to make prom, the American high schooler's rite of passage, a little brighter for them.

"At school...when it came to hairstylists and makeup artists, it was either too expensive or the stylists weren't experienced working with ethnic skin and hair types," she said. "Looking at that, and since I have big hair, I said I have to figure out how to get makeup and hairstylists out here."

She brought people to do hair, makeup and nails. It was a hit.

At Lake Forest, she also tutored Spanish-speaking through the Nuestro Center, and served on the Student Council, Top Teens of America and the Interact Volunteer Club.

When she was in eighth grade, Maya and her friends turned their graduation parties into school-supply drives. They raised more than $4,000 to buy folders, pencils and pens for kids who couldn't afford them.

At H-F, Maya plans to continue her volunteering while she serves in other roles, including as member of National Honor Society and as a student ambassador. When she graduates, she plans to study biomedical engineering and hopes to attend Georgia Institute of Technology, Duke University, or Stanford University.

The Bank of America award only fueled her drive.

"It helped me tremendously to kind of establish what I want my future to look like," she said. I already knew about college and job stability and stuff like that. But this helped me understand what I have to do to plan volunteering within my future and make sure I am constantly giving back to my to community," she said. "It helped me establish how I want my future to look at its biggest."

"It helped me understand the person I want to be and who I am," Maya said.