The San Diego County Public Defender Youth Council in Partnership with the San Diego Public Library Presents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The San Diego County Public Defender Youth Council in partnership with the San Diego Public Library Presents 25 Most Remarkable Teens in San Diego Welcome Misty Jones, Director San Diego Public Library City Of San Diego Opening Remarks Randy Mize, Public Defender San Diego County Order of Presentation 25 Most Remarkable Teens San Diego County Public Defender in San Diego Youth Council RECIPIENT READER Endiya Griffin Jennifer Antunez Matthew Campos Gabriella Guarino Julia Sarnoff Espinosa Kevin Ayvar Soyon Kim Devonne Williams Miguel Aldrete Marci Guerrero Habon Hassan Jennifer Echeverria Emily Hada Aaditya Timalsina Antonyio Powell Eva Schultz Syria Myers Yesenia Bonilla Hannah Lopez-Powers Brian Quintero Angelo Salazar Anette Govea Kieler Muller Anthony Solorzano John Finkelman Josie Crittenden Karolyn Curtis Sharon De La Vega Melissa Deorsola Eugene Coronel Cindy Maldonado Gabby Ortega Sidney Adame Javier Tamayo Santiago Lopez Kiari Bunch Enrique Gonzalez Natalie Gunn Crystal Sung Nicholas Roberge Emily Pilkington Maris Grado Azareel Canizales Melena Taylor Phonisha Pruitt Billy Campos Tha Dah Say Becca Turner Payton Smith Nina Salameh Closing Remarks Supervisor Nathan Fletcher Council President Pro Tem District 4 Barbara Bry San Diego County District 1 Board of Supervisors San Diego City Council Supervisor Kriston Gasper Councilmember District 3 Monica Montgomery San Diego County District 4 Board of Supervisors San Diego City Council Youth Activism ENDIYA GRIFFIN San Diego Metropolitan High School Endiya Griffin is a 16 year old junior at San Diego Metropolitan High School. She is passionate about working with underserved communities to promote wellness and social justice. Endiya believes that art and self-expression can be instrumental in bringing about social change. She is a social media strategist for the AJA project in City Heights, a nonprofit that teaches the art of photography-based programming and social justice concepts to transform the lives of youth and communities. Endiya crafts social media posts, corresponds with teaching artists, and organizes funding and promotional campaigns. Endiya is also an intern at the ACLU where she guides volunteer work, documents events and creates marketing materials. She is a freelance writer for YR Media, an NPR affiliated network of young journalists. To be a catalyst for change, Endiya has worked for the San Diego Urban League and Launching Legacies – all organizations geared towards making life better for others in the community. Endiya has won multiple awards for scholarship and leadership. She has also utilized platforms such as TEDX and the Big Picture Learning to spread her message of empowerment. In 2018 Endiya was a panelist at the California Youth Media Conference and the Grantmakers for Education Workshop. Endiya is currently a councilmember for both the United Nations Youth Advisory Council and the Youth Network Advisory Council. Endiya’s avid love of storytelling has been displayed through her journalistic work published by NPR, Teen Vogue and the San Diego Voyager. Endiya is relentless in her efforts to improve the lives of those in the community. Although Endiya is a high school junior, she will graduate high school in 2020 with an Associate’s degree in sociology from Mesa College. Endiya Griffin receives the Remarkable Teen award in the category of Youth Activism. Community Service MATTHEW CAMPOS Valhalla High School Matthew Campos is an 18 year old senior at Valhalla High School. Matthew has a heart for people with disabilities and has devoted his time to becoming an advocate for this community. Matthew’s love for the developmentally disabled community ignited from his time volunteering at Noah Homes, a residential community for adults with developmental disabilities. Whether it is coloring, reading, playing the piano or simply talking with them, Matthew realizes that the most important thing he can offer these men and women is his time. At Valhalla, Matthew is an officer of Norse Crew, a high school transition program offering freshmen students support and guidance from upper classmen who have been through the challenges that high school poses. Matthew works collaboratively with other leaders to organize events throughout the year while also finding service opportunities for Norse Crew members in the community. Recently, his passion for community engagement motivated him to recruit 30 Norse Crew leaders to work on a service project at Noah Homes for a holiday fundraising event. In her nomination of Matthew, teacher Sarah Ritter writes, “Matthew has an incredible heart for community service. He never expects nor desires recognition for the work he does. He does it purely because he is passionate about caring for the diverse community he lives in.” She describes Matthew as one of the most remarkable students she has met. Matthew says he has been most inspired by his grandfather. He shares a quote from his grandfather which especially moves him, “Life is only worth living if you serve one another.” Matthew will be attending Azusa Pacific University in the fall and plans to study psychology in order to be a Special Education Teacher or Occupational Therapist. Matthew Campos receives the Remarkable Teen award in the category of Community Service. Courage to Overcome: Health Condition JULIA SARNOFF ESPINOSA Del Lago Academy Julia Sarnoff Espinosa is a 17 year old junior at Del Lago Academy. Julia was born with a rare genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis (known as NF1), which affects just 1-in-3000 people worldwide. Neurofibromatosis has impacted Julia’s life with eight major surgeries in the past eight years – including four spinal fusions, three tumor resections, and a spinal cord ‘detethering’. Julia also suffers with chronic pain due to tumors growing along her nervous system. In spite of her medical challenges, Julia excels in her studies and has volunteered in support of those suffering with Neurofibromatosis. Julia’s volunteer activities have included fundraising for non-profit organizations focused on supporting the NF community by participating in sponsored walks, selling various products and even setting up information tables at local venues. Julia’s father Herb Sarnoff says that Julia’s biggest fundraising effort was in support of scholarships for children going to NF Camp in Utah. Julia also mentors a seven-year-old girl with NF1 and has travelled twice to Manchester, England as the only foreign representative at the annual NF Camp in the United Kingdom. In her nomination of Julia, Charlotte Hicks writes, “I am recommending Julia because of her remarkable determination, drive, spirit and dedication to helping others with NF despite her own daily pain and physical challenges. She will not give up on herself, her advocacy or her aspirations.” Julia has participated in several clinical trials to help advance medical understanding of Neurofibromatosis, including a study where she travels to Washington D.C. annually to measure how the disease progresses as she gets older. After high school, Julia is committed to leveraging her significant experience being a patient into becoming a medical doctor herself. Julia Sarnoff Espinosa receives the Remarkable Teen award in the category of Courage to Overcome: Health Condition. Creativity SOYON KIM Canyon Crest Academy Soyon Kim is an 18 year old senior at Canyon Crest Academy. Soyon is a mathlete and artist who has left a mark in her community. She has been part of the San Diego Math Field Day committee since her sophomore year. Math Field Day is an annual middle school math competition that has been running for almost 50 years and provides a venue for friendly competition that will encourage interest in math and STEM fields for middle school students throughout San Diego County. Each year more than twenty schools and 300 students compete. Soyon recognized the lack of female members in the math community and decided to do something about it. In an effort to encourage more girls to actively engage in math, she founded the Girls’ Math Club at her school. As the club grew, she decided to expand her efforts to a younger age group and organized the Math and Art Program at the Solana Beach Public Library. With the other club members, Soyon teaches elementary school children who visit the library topics combining math and art. Activities include folding origami, discovering mathematical patterns in plants around the garden and carving geometric designs relating to topics of fractals on papers and orange peels. Aside from math and art programs, Soyon artistically advocates women’s empowerment through her art. In a recent art portfolio, Soyon interviewed several women of various backgrounds about their specific challenges as women. As a member of her school Envision Visual Arts Conservatory, she creatively communicates their stories at exhibitions and projects using mixed media. Soyon has committed to attend the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the fall where she hopes to continue her inter-disciplinary pursuit of mathematics and art. Soyon Kim receives the Remarkable Teen award in the category of Creativity. Public Speaking MIGUEL ALDRETE San Diego State University Miguel Aldrete is a 19 year old freshman at San Diego State University. Miguel graduated from Bonita Vista High School in 2018, but he has been making his mark on society for the past 10 years. At age eight Miguel formulated a plan to help end deforestation, and founded a non-profit, “Kids 4 Our World”. In 2015, Miguel partnered with La Reserva Forest Foundation, a Costa Rican and U.S. based non-profit dedicated to replanting, restoring, and protecting the world’s tropical rain forests. Travelling to Costa Rica with seven peer Ambassadors, “Kids 4 Our World” raised money locally to join the La Reserva project and help plant 2 ½ acres of new trees. The La Reserva Forest Foundation has now planted over 16,000 trees in eight countries while organizing local and international volunteering campaigns. Miguel has written two children’s books. He wrote the first one at age 10.