2011-2012: Mariam Ebadi
Mariam was responsible for the annual International Night, which presents cultural performances and information about many countries. She is a Peer Mediator and works for organizations which collect food for the poor, assist children with cancer, and provide polio vaccinations.
2014-2015: The Peer Mediation Program
The Peer Mediation Program was established to peacefully resolve conflict among students with the goal of promoting a safe and educationally productive environment for all members of the school community. Teachers and staff selected students with suitable character traits and approached them for their participation.
Student mediators (Guadalupe Cruz-Basilio, Sadeechya Gurung, Mahnoor Khurshid, Solomie Mesfin, Jesse Osafo, Julia Piviriunite) are trained in advanced communication skills and facilitate communication between peers. Sponsors Dan Zarchin and Carissa Camacho feel these students have developed essential life skills to manage conflict and are truly examples of leaders and peacekeepers. “These are all fabulous students with HUGE hearts. Their motivation comes from within, genuinely wanting to help out the school in any way they can.” One of the peer mediators summarized, "Being a peer mediator at JEB Stuart High School has taught me that if there is no internal peace in a relationship between two or more people, then there will never be external peace.”
The Peer Mediators attended a three-day training, learning about various ways of dealing with conflict as they engaged in role-playing activities. They further enhanced their skills by attending a Peer Mediation Workshop at George Mason University which included fellow peer mediators from the DC area. As one participant said, "The experience of meeting other peer mediators from around the region helped us all understand how important our role is within the Peer Mediation Program.”
The Peer Mediators meet on a regular basis during the school day for training and to hear cases. Some examples of cases they have successfully handled include a misunderstanding between two friends that led to an exchange of angry words via social media, and a conflict stemming from one student spreading rumors about another student.
2015-2016: Sam Laveson, senior
Sam Laveson’s main focus is the environment. He sees this as directly related to achieving peace. Sam points out that when there are insufficient resources for everyone, violence may erupt. He notes that we are citizens of a first-world country whose ecological footprint is unsustainable, while people in other parts of the world are deprived of the basic necessities. Violence is likely to erupt when people are forced to compete for dwindling resources.
As a member of his school’s Recycling Club, Sam has worked on teaching his colleagues and teachers what to recycle. Sam also sets an example in his personal life. He is a vegetarian, prints school assignments on the back of recycled paper, takes reusable containers with him to restaurants, and limits his showers to two minutes. He encourages his friends to follow his tips, whether in person or online. Sam knows his actions alone won’t do much, but he realizes the difference which could be made if all people tweaked their lifestyles just a little bit.
Sam has also worked to create a sense of community and harmony within his school. He is often the first one to introduce himself to new students. Last year he worked with friends to plan videos and activities for anti-bullying week.
School Counselor Nora Covert summarizes, “Sam makes a difference in Stuart High School. He works tirelessly to promote a safe and caring culture at school. He has embraced opportunities to immerse himself in other cultures and by doing so has helped to bridge some of the differences we have in our very diverse community.”s
2016-2017: Maiss Mohamed and Deema Alharthi, Juniors
When Maiss Mohamed began high school, the Model United Nations Club had ceased to function. Believing that students should learn about settling international conflicts through peace and diplomacy rather than war, she decided to reactivate the club. She recruited John Hiltz to be the faculty sponsor. Deema Alharthi was elected vice president of the club.
Maiss and Deema worked tirelessly to ensure that the club was successful. Fortunately, they were able to accomplish this, and now 15-20 students attend the semi-monthly meetings. Maiss serves as Secretary-General of her school’s UN Club, and Deema is Under-Secretary-General. In December 2016, ten students attended the Model UN conference at Edison High School and a record-breaking 19 attended the conference at Garfield High School the following month. At Garfield’s conference, Maiss and Deema won a verbal commendation for suggesting solutions to the Syrian refugee crisis to the other members of the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee.
Both girls are also interested in the welfare of those closer to home, and so they became active in Students in Training for Advocacy and Responsibility (STAR). In January 2017 the members of STAR visited the Virginia House of Delegates and met with their representatives to advocate for the rights of undocumented residents to have drivers licenses and to receive in-state tuition in Virginia colleges.
Maiss and Deema participate in several service-oriented clubs such as the Key Club, Girl Up, and Interact. They have volunteered for several groups including Virginia Coalition of Latino Organization, which works for the rights of Latin Americans.
Maiss summarizes, “Peace is not simply about resolving conflicts, but rather, it is unifying a group of people and creating a chain reaction of positivity.”
2017-2018: Eyerusalem Desta, Senior
Eyerusalem Desta has been an active member of Amnesty International (AI) at her school for several years and is currently serving as president. As a leader of AI, she has networked with other students to enroll volunteers, organized letter-writing campaigns to address global human-rights concerns, and investigated ways to help at-risk students and families in the local community. Eyerusalem says, “Being a part of Amnesty International has shown me what it means to lead and has allowed me to be a part of an organization that is bigger than myself. AI opened my eyes to many different injustices and reminded me that the world is large, and that there are so many ways to help others.” In addition, she has volunteered in the school library and at Children’s National Medical Center and organized a cleanup of a neighborhood soccer field.
2019-2020: GirlUp
The GirlUp club at Justice High School is affiliated with an umbrella UN organization founded in 2010. GirlUp seeks to empower adolescent girls around the globe. The Justice chapter was established in the 2016-17 school year and rapidly expanded to its current membership of just over 100 students, including five officers.
The GirlUp mission is gender equality. The organization focuses on five key challenges girls face in the community and around the world, which they list as “education, health, safety/violence, leadership, and being counted.” The first major initiative adopted by the Justice GirlUp club was Menstrual Equity. In 2018, the president of the club raised concern regarding a lack of menstrual products in the restrooms. The club placed bins in each of the school restrooms to collect and distribute feminine products. The Menstrual Equity project came to the attention of the Fairfax County School Board and is now a pilot project in 30 Fairfax County Public Schools.
In 2019, eight members of GirlUp met with Congressional representatives to participate in a press conference for the Menstrual Equity for All Act. Several students also served on a panel with State Senator Jennifer Boysko to exempt Virginia taxpayers from the sales tax on tampons.
In addition to the school-based project at Justice, the club partnered with other school clubs to put together feminine hygiene kits for a school in Swaziland. They are currently working together to paint girls’ restroom stalls at Justice with positive messages and images. They are also fundraising for SchoolCycle, an international GirlUp program that raises money to purchase bikes for girls in developing countries to provide safe travel to and from school.