NoVA Students Lead Virginia In Community Service Awards

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Six students from Northern Virgnia were recognized for their community service by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring students from fifth grade through 12th grade. The awards, now in their 25th year, are conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

The program recognizes two top honorees from each state. It also recognizes other finalists from each state who were judged to have done excellent work. The two Virginia honorees, from Vienna and Ashburn, will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and a four-day stay in D.C. At a May event when students from across the country are in D.C., 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020.

Altogether, eight students from Virginia were recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. The two Virginia students from outside Northern Virginia were from Glen Allen and Norfolk.

"In our 25th year of honoring young volunteers, we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to address the needs of a changing world," Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial Inc., said Tuesday in a statement. "We hope that their resolve, their initiative and their perspectives on society’s challenges move others to consider how they can make a difference, too."

The top two honorees from Virginia were Ryan Janaske, 12, of Ashburn, and Rayan Yu, 16, of Vienna. The "distinguished finalists" from Northern Virginia were Lina Alkarmi of Sterling, Neeyanth Kopparapu of Herndon, Logan Speckhard of Ashburn, and Shreyaa Venkat of Ashburn.

Janaske, a seventh-grader at Trailside Middle School, stuffs as many as 100 backpacks with school supplies each summer and donates them to elementary schools in her area for students who cannot afford to start the school year with everything they need. Janaske used to help with a school-supply drive led by her mother at her workplace. But after her mother got a new job and couldn't continue the program, Janaske decided to pick up where her mother left off.

"I came up with the idea of starting my own charity because I liked what my mom did and how it made me feel when I helped people," said Janaske, who calls her charity "Kids Helping Kids."

Yu, a junior at James Madison High School, worked with a partner to create free STEM-education mobile apps to help students around the world who otherwise might not have the resources to reach their full potential. Two summers ago, Yu tutored students in his father's hometown, a village in China.

"Their schools lacked textbooks, curriculums and even teachers," Yu said. "It was heartbreaking to see so many lose their potential simply because they did not have access to quality education."

When Rayan returned home, he founded inGenius X, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide "easy access to education anywhere and everywhere." Since his first app, Mathtivity, was certified and published, it has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

Alkarmi, 17, a senior at Dominion High School, started and runs Princess Packages, a nonprofit that has given more than 400 princess-themed care packages to young patients in hospitals. Kopparapu, 18, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, co-founded GirlsComputingLeague, which provides STEM-related learning opportunities for students from underserved communities.

Speckhard, 17, a senior at Briar Woods High School, runs Athletes Crush Cancer, which raises money for families affected by cancer. Venkat, 17, a senior at Broad Run High School, started and runs NEST4US, which provides volunteer and leadership opportunities to young people.

On May 4 at a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, five middle school students and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. Each of the national honorees will receive a $5,000 scholarship; a gold medallion; a crystal trophy for their nominating school or organization; and a $5,000 Prudential grant for a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice.

Applicants are judged on whether they initiated the activity on their own and demonstrated exceptional leadership or motivation in the activity. The judges look at how much time and effort went into the activity and whether the applicant had to overcome significant obstacles.

The impact of the activity also is taken into consideration, including whether a significant number of people were affected, or if lives of specific individuals were affected in a major way. Additionally, the judges look at whether the students acquire insights or skills from the experience.