2011-2012: Franck Simo

Franck was born and raised in Cameroon. During his three years in the US he led a campaign to involve ESL students in school activities. He is active in the College Partnership Program (a club for first generation, college-bound students) and SLICE and City of Peace DC (organizations that promote cross-cultural understanding).

2012-2013: Amanda Halacy, Senior

Amanda’s passions are human rights and international development. "Amanda is a positive person. She has a strong interest in helping others and she leaves a positive impact on all those she comes in contact with," says School Counselor Suzanne Parrotte.

Service is in Amanda's blood. Her grandfather worked alongside Sergeant Shriver, the founder of the Peace Corps. She grew up traveling with her mother, the owner of a local travel agency. As she became older, she embarked on student travel and service programs (Rustic Pathways and National Geographic Expeditions) to gain a more independent view of the world. Amanda has traveled to five continents to perform service in several countries through volunteering to improve the conditions of impoverished families and children.

When Amanda was 16, she spent two months in South East Asia. She vaccinated stray dogs in Udon Thani, Thailand against rabies and bordetella, thus reducing the risk to the local residents. She also assisted in building houses for families in some of the rural villages of Thailand and helped local villagers with planting rice. Amanda says she developed a real fondness for the people of Thailand as she taught children to swim, volunteered in the local orphanage, and taught English. She also assisted at the Thai/Burmese border caring for children of families in the Mae La Burmese Refugee Camp, teaching English, and helping with cooking.

Amanda has been president of the Interact Club since her freshman year. The Interact Club partners with the Reston Rotary to organize community service events. Recently, Amanda organized a fundraiser and raised over a $1000 in one week for the Harambee Center in Nairobi, Kenya. Her fundraiser was inspired by a trip she took to Kenya her sophomore year of high school, instead of attending her homecoming dance. She also volunteered at an orphanage for HIV positive babies, taught preschool in the Mukuru Slum in Nairobi, and concluded her trip by initiating an educational sponsorship of a 9 year old Kenyan girl. She is currently planning a second annual fundraiser to take place this spring. Her goal is to start a sponsorship program between the Harambee Center and her high school.

Amanda is also interested in human rights. She recently wrote a 20-page research paper about the UN definitions of 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide'. Although the human rights violations that occur in each situation are the same, she believes that their differing definitions (and consequences for each definition) have been detrimental in Tibet, Burma, Rwanda, and Cambodia.

Amanda plans to study international development in college in the hopes of starting her own NGO or nonprofit.

2013-2014: Seema Sethi, Senior South Lakes High School

Seema Sethi is deeply concerned about the causes and results of war. Her extended essay for her International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme focused on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. She explored both the background of the war and how it caused further conflicts that continue to affect the people of both countries. Seema says, “I was inspired to work for peace when I visited India and heard about the toils of my family. I have seen the poverty and the injustice that runs its course throughout India. My hope for a better world inspires me to work for one.”

From listening to the stories of her grandparents, all forced out of Pakistan in 1947 due to public uprisings, Seema says she better understands the devastation caused by war. She realizes that peace can never be achieved when the losses of the primary conflict are still fresh in the minds and hearts of those affected. She also sees that problems cannot solely be solved by a third-party mediator. Both nations must be willing to compromise.

Seema points out the difference between peace and tolerance. Tolerance, without real peace, is likely to incite future conflicts. Although she studied this on an international level, she is well aware that it is true in personal relations as well.

To further her studies of peace, Seema enrolled in a Peace and Conflict Resolution class as part of the 2013 Virginia Governor’s school for Humanities at Radford University. Seema says, “I learned how peace is integrated into so many different aspects of the world, including food! Moreover, I understood the importance of meditation in the peace of mind of an individual.”

2014-2015: Lina Wu, Senior

Lina Wu is an advocate for international understanding. In particular, she is concerned about human rights violations and how to address them. She believes that the best way to push for equality is to focus on advocating for the most underprivileged group.

Lina has worked through Girls Learn International (GLI), an organization with a growing number of chapters throughout the US, partnered with schools in other countries where girls lag behind boys in access to education. GLI promotes the empowerment of US students as they discover that they can make a genuine difference.

As President of the South Lakes GLI Chapter, Lina organizes meetings and teaches the 28 members of GLI about events/actions that undermine equality and how they can be addressed. She led a panel discussion on sex trafficking and its impact on the world. She also organized several fundraisers for their partner school in Wai, India.

Amina believes that no one should feel marginalized. She is a representative of the Muslim Student Association, a club dedicated to ensuring that the values of compassion and humanity are extended to the student body through such things as anti-bullying campaigns. Amina also works with the other Muslim Student Association representatives to invite students of local Christian private schools to discuss religious beliefs and the importance of tolerance.

Amina hopes that her work with the Community Service Club, Model United Nations, and Muslim Student Association will encourage understanding and help to promote peace across geopolitical boundaries.

2015-2016: Aditi Takle, senior

Aditi Takle is president of the school’s chapter of Girls Learn International (GLI), a national nonprofit that seeks to provide resources and support to girls from low-income families overseas who want to have an education, but whose families either cannot afford to send them to school or who, with the limited resources at their disposal, prioritize their sons’ educations.

The South Lakes chapter of GLI has established a direct relationship with a school in India, Bharat Vidyalaya, for which they raise funds every year. The funds go towards school fees or tuition, school supplies, uniforms, and transportation costs. Along with fundraising, the chapter also holds advocacy events to raise awareness of the plight of so many girls across the globe who need access to education and opportunities for greater self-sufficiency. So far this year they have raised $500 towards their goal of $750. A recent event centered on the screening of the documentary, Half the Sky, which addresses the plight of millions of women worldwide who struggle against oppression and poverty.

Aditi says she is greatly motivated by her own sense of privilege -- not just having access to education but also coming from a family that encourages her to succeed academically and also to maintain a healthy balance of activities. Aditi’s enthusiasm for ‘paying it forward’ expands beyond her school. She is a volunteer with Cornerstones, where she tutors elementary school students from low-income families in an after-school program run out of its Herndon office. When asked by the staff if she needed to clock those hours to meet Community Service requirements, Aditi responded, “I met that requirement long ago…I just love to work with the kids!” An unanticipated consequence of Aditi’s work is her father’s decision to follow her example and pursue his own opportunities to volunteer locally.

2016-2017: Emily Lockwood, Senior

Emily Lockwood has a passion for peace-building. Career Center Specialist Andrea Acosta says, “Emily is a driven, gracious, responsible, and compassionate young woman who believes kindness makes the world a smaller and gentler place. The fact that she speaks three languages fluently (English, Spanish, and French) has given her a global interest and awareness that is rarely found in people her age.”

Emily took a school assignment and turned it into an opportunity to delve into options for improving relations between the state and society in Myanmar (Burma). Reaching beyond the school library and Internet, Emily sought information from primary and secondary sources at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. There she had the opportunity to seek help from the program officer, with whom she has continued to maintain contact. She says that working with the program officer was “an amazing experience” which furthered her desire to work in the field of international relations.

Emily is also interested in building bridges closer to home. She was chosen as a mentor to assist freshmen transition to high school by helping them manage their school work and navigate social situations. She also serves as the track coach for young children with special needs and assists as a camp counselor.

Surabhi is described by School Counselor Kenneth Kim as having a "heart for others". She plans to pursue science and medicine with a goal of rescuing victims of human trafficking. In particular, she aspires to research HIV and AIDS and tackle the virus here and around the world.

2017-2018: Zhiyi Wang, Senior

Zhiyi “Joycee” Wang’s father was a famous Chinese dissident who died in prison in China after being arrested for his pro-democracy views. Joycee left her family behind in China in 2014 to escape persecution and has not seen her mother nor returned to China for fear that she will be detained. Here in the United States, she has been interviewed three times by Radio Free Asia to tell her story of growing up and fleeing China, and to give her thoughts on human rights and democracy in China. She also attends conferences where they discuss how they can work with the US government to fight for human rights in China.

2018-2019: Sophia Liao, Senior

In response to last year’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, Sophia Liao organized her school’s participation in the National Walkout Day. South Lakes students joined students across the nation to remember the 17 students and staff members who were killed and to demand an end to gun violence. Sophia collaborated with the administration, faculty, parents, and classmates to create an event that was safe and well organized. She also contacted local media outlets to maximize the impact of their demonstration. School Counselor Shannon Mayrose notes that “Sophia’s positive outlook on the world, despite recent events, is inspiring.”

Sophia feels it is important to be politically active. She is President and Founder of the Young Democrats Club and has a fellowship with the Virginia Democratic Coordinated Campaign. She has served on the Student Council, and she represents her school on the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.

As Founder and President of Panda and Friends, Sophia organized a trip for 12 students to participate in a one-week service/learning trip to the Bifengxia Panda Center in Sichuan, China. The students made panda food, cleaned cages, raised funds, ran the souvenir shop, and talked with the Center leaders. After seeing a baby panda in a small glass incubator, Sophia says, “I finally understand firsthand the Chinese value of volunteerism. I also realize that any life, no matter how small, is important and should be supported. I learned that regardless of ethnicity or culture, all humans want to help others. Thus, I should do the same.”

2019-2020: Lindsey Hirshfeld, Senior

Lindsey Hirshfeld spent her childhood avoiding many popular activities due to supraventricular tachycardia, a congenital heart condition. Intense sports, rides at the fair, and even school performances had the potential to trigger her heart to beat up to 300 times a minute. It wasn’t until her freshman year, after heart ablation surgery, that Lindsey was able to start enjoying a full life.

As a result of her experience, Lindsey says she became acutely aware of her own emotions and developed a compassion for her classmates who are struggling to overcome a variety of issues that make them feel isolated. She is aware of students who suffer from medical conditions, learning disabilities, and bullying.

When she reached high school, Lindsey found a channel for supporting chronically ill children through the BeAMYzing Reston Triathlon that raises funds for the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation. She is on the Executive Council, which acts as a voice for the student body. She has also become an advocate for peace, participating in a school-wide, silent protest against gun violence and assisting with cultural festivals so that students would better appreciate the diversity within the school.

Lindsey found an outlet for her passion for social justice in music. One of Lindsey’s songs, We Gather Dust, received an honorable mention from the Speak Up, Sing Out! music contest which invites students to produce original songs that take a stand against human rights abuses. Lindsey’s honorable mention recognized her talent, passion for social justice, and desire to promote peace.

School Counselor Lauren Griffin described Lindsey’s “empathetic nature” as “unmatched by any other student I have met!” Lindsey plans to continue promoting peace through her music by earning a college degree in music therapy.