2014-2015: Katarina Jones, Senior

Katarina Jones believes poverty often breeds violence because the poor can feel neglected by the rest of society. She feels that peace can be encouraged through simple acts of kindness.

Katarina took a dentistry class, where she learned that impoverished people generally lack proper dental hygiene. Inspired by this awareness, Katarina decided to help needy people in her community as her project to earn a Gold Award – the highest award possible in the Girl Scouts. Katarina plans to go to organizations, such as schools and homeless shelters, to provide information on the importance of fluoride, how to brush and floss correctly, and how to identify dental emergencies. In addition, she will provide information about how to obtain free or reduced-priced dental care. Katarina is also working toward creating dental hygiene programs within the shelters. Katarina believes that her efforts will help bring people a sense of inner peace because they will have one less stress in their lives.

Katarina is a cheerleader and captain of her high school gymnastics team. “She is the hardest working girl on the incredibly diverse team,” says Coach Orbacz. “Katarina is great working with the younger and new girls. She is patient, hardworking, strong, and humble. She is a well-rounded role model and peace maker. She consistently shows a spirit of cooperation instead of competition. Katarina works hard to help all of her teammates feel cherished and included, particularly during their different cultures’ holidays. Katarina is genuinely excited for all the girls on the team and their cultures.”

Katarina says, “I do as much as I can in my local communities since I don’t have the financial means to travel and help in other countries.”

2015-2016: Stepping Stones Club

The goal of Stepping Stones is to raise awareness of human trafficking. The members work closely with Just Ask, a Northern Virginia-based organization that combats human trafficking in schools. They have also made contact with multiple experts in the field including non-profits and the police service.

Stepping Stones sponsored an awareness week to educate students and help them consider ways to assist students who are victims of human trafficking. Students received candy with facts about human trafficking and Just Ask bracelets. Junior Scottie Tran reports that “by the end of the awareness week, nearly everyone in the school was wearing one of the bracelets and talking about human trafficking; an issue many students had not known about previously.” Junior Linda Lyons notes that "Many students continue to wear the bracelets.” Stepping Stones also worked with nine other school clubs to collect over 1000 cans of food for five locations, including Alternative House, a home for trafficking victims and other teens in need.

To encourage students to be mindful of trafficking victims, the club set up a poster which asked, "How would you help a sex trafficking victim?" Many students wrote very positive responses. This fostered a sense of community, letting victims know their peers care about them and encouraging them to step forward and ask for help.

The organization of Stepping Stones consists of a teacher sponsor, five student leaders, and 35 student members. Most of the members are juniors and seniors. Mary Brady is the teacher sponsor, and the student leaders are Rosie Cheong, Britney Phan, Scottie Tran, and Linda Lyons (all juniors) and Yenni Tran (a sophomore).

"This issue is close to my heart," says College and Career Center Specialist Jenny Collins. "The students have done amazing work. Their hope is to not only bring awareness and promote justice in regards to this issue, but also to encourage restoration and peace for those who have been victims.”

2017-2018: Kinda Callas, Senior

Kinda Callas is the vice-president of her school’s Best Buddies club and created a video on YouTube called Spread the Word to End the Word  to discourage the derogatory use of the ‘R’ word. As president of her youth group, Kinda organized an evening trip to speak with members of the homeless population and to learn about their needs. She organized students to prepare and donate 400 bags of supplies for homeless students in Fairfax County. Last year, she raised over $1,200 to send to Syrian refugees through UNICEF.

2019-2020: Roudah Chaker, Senior

Roudah Chaker says that her experience as a first generation Syrian-American has contributed to her passion to help people from war-torn countries who hope to immigrate to the US. She has personally raised more than $3,000 for Syrian refugee aid to provide warm clothing, blankets, and housing. Her active membership in the Muslim Student Association (MSA) has led her to contribute more than 500 hours to Islamic Relief, United Muslim Relief, Oxfam, and Penny Appeal. Some of her activities included fundraisers, packing meals, participating in back-to-school drives for orphanages, and distributing needed items to the homeless.

Roudah has family members who have been affected by the Syrian crisis. “Being Syrian-American, I feel it is my duty to find ways to support refugees,” she said. She has helped refugees resettled in Maryland by working one-on-one with children, handing out clothes, distributing food for their families, and welcoming them to a new place.

Leadership roles with MSA, Oakton High School, and the National Honor Society have enabled Roudah to encourage others to advocate for immigrants and refugees. She is also active politically, working to correct policies that directly affect those who want to come to the US for its promise of peace.

Roudah feels that while many agencies address housing and employment requirements of resettled immigrants, the mental health needs of women and children are often neglected. This has led Roudah to begin to develop a mental health program for resettled refugees in the Washington, DC area. She would like to partner with other groups that serve this population to provide the assistance they need. She feels the best way to achieve her goal is to attend a local university and eventually earn a law degree with an emphasis on civil rights.