2011-2012: Yon (Daniel) Jang

Daniel, born in Korea, was one of the authors of the book Lost Family which describes the experiences of families torn apart by the Korean War. Through Voice of Divided Korean Families (VODKF), which he co-founded, Daniel has led numerous awareness campaigns to promote the reunion of Korean-Americans with their families in North Korea.

2012-2013: Kevin Cao, Senior

Kevin is the co-founder and CEO of GIVE, Growth and Inspiration through Volunteering and Education, a student-run 501(c) (3) non-profit organization based in Northern Virginia. After volunteering at a Title I elementary school, Kevin “saw first-hand the alarming effects of the mounting achievement gap.” In 2010, as a high school freshman, he and two colleagues established GIVE to provide academic assistance and to promote leadership skills and empowerment for elementary school students by pairing them with high school tutors for a year-long free mentorship experience. The young students represent different ages and diverse cultures, and many are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Starting four years ago with 50 students meeting at one location, the 400 GIVE volunteers now serve 500 students at five community centers and six libraries throughout Fairfax and Loudoun Counties on Saturdays and Sundays.

As an outgrowth of working with these children, GIVE published a children’s book titled Being Different Is What Makes Us Special!. With its message to future leaders of the importance of learning about cultural differences, embracing diversity, and involving a trusted adult in bullying situations, this book has been distributed to elementary schools throughout Fairfax County to promote understanding in our increasingly diverse community.

In addition to leading the day-to-day operations and expansion of GIVE, Kevin is his school’s representative on the Fairfax County Student Human Rights Commission. Kevin explained that SHRC is working on three main projects this year: 1) A Read Across America event in which commissioners visit local elementary schools and read a book related to conflict resolution; 2) A week-long Diversity Campaign to celebrate cultural, religious and social diversity in the local community; and 3) A Basic Human Rights initiative to educate high schoolers about the basics and how to get involved.

With his passion for world languages, Kevin speaks Vietnamese and Spanish. He is president of the Spanish Honor Society at his school and is part of the

Vietnamese Student Association dance performance at his school’s 2013 International Nite.

“In an increasingly global society,” says Kevin, “I believe it is of utmost importance to promote peace and understanding throughout our daily lives.”

2013-2014: Anwar Omeish, Senior

As Events & Conferences Chair of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of Muslim Youth of North America, Anwar Omeish helped to bring greater intercultural understanding to her high school community. She reaches an even broader audience as an activist and an award-winning writer, documenting her journeys, political opinions, and views on growing up as a Muslim American.

According to College and Career Center Specialist Eileen Kropf, Anwar is extremely interested in issues of gender equality and establishing positive relations between ethnic communities. Recognizing the importance of providing opportunities to young girls of diverse cultural backgrounds, Anwar served for three years as a camp counselor at a Girl Scout sponsored Camp Primavera in Oakton, Virginia, with a goal of “mentoring young girls from impoverished communities to be the best that they can be.”

Anwar follows through on her commitment to social justice through political action, having served as an organizing fellow in a presidential election, a block captain for her precinct, and a summer intern for a congresswoman. Within her school community, Anwar works to foster an environment of inclusion. She stood up to defend a student who was being bullied, working to mediate a solution to the conflict. While she realizes that not everyone can agree on every social and political issue, Anwar states, “I live by the maxim, ‘If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything.’”

Anwar gave a talk at her school describing the harmful effects of bigotry that she and members of her family have experienced because of their religion. She explained to her audience the importance of examining one’s identity as being “essential to moral action and to making the world a better place.” Anwar intends to major in International Development in college with a focus on human rights and gender equality.

2014-2015: Reem Mohamed, Senior

Believing in the importance of activism among young people, Reem Mohamed states, “Standing up for what is right is a default in the human condition. Apathy is inexcusable.” Living her philosophy, Reem has participated for ten years in protests in the D.C. area, advocating the end of US complicity in war in the Middle East. She also witnessed and participated in the 2011 and 2013 revolutions in Cairo. Reem was 13 when she and her mother flew to Egypt to take part in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square, Cairo, believing the Egyptian people deserved the same freedom of speech that is valued in the United States. Reem returned to Cairo two years later, where she participated in the sit-in at Rabaa Square.

As president of the Muslim Student Association at Thomas Jefferson High School, Reem encourages and leads discussions about the complexity of problems in the Middle East, the role of Muslims in the modern world, and the need to eradicate Islamophobia. Reem’s efforts in education, advocacy, and action help to bring greater intercultural understanding to her high school community and beyond.

As a Girl Scout, Reem has led workshops for younger girls about female empowerment and racial equality. She runs a social justice blog where she posts articles and opinions on a variety of topics relating to feminism, media representation, and race/ class conflict issues. According to her English teacher, Maria Gilbert, Reem “is committed to justice, fairness, and equality for all people.”

After listening to her parents’ accounts of the bloodshed they witnessed in Egypt’s Rabaa Massacre in August, 2013, Reem has decided to pursue medicine as a career, with the hope that she can travel to war-torn cities all over the world and aid civilians caught in the crossfire.

2015-2016: Kristin Myers, Junior

Kristin Myers, together with six other students, founded the TJ Honor Council. Their mission was not to simply determine guilt or innocence, but to foster a community of integrity and change the school culture into one where students care more about each other.

As Kristin and the others participated in Restorative Justice (RJ) training and then its implementation at their school, they saw the power of RJ in helping those who commit honor code infractions to understand how their wrongdoing affects the TJ community as a whole. The student-led Honor Council has contributed to improvements in the social dynamics of the school community, remediating relationships, and re-building trust among students and between students and teachers.

In her second year as Vice President of the Honor Council, Kristin facilitates the RJ processes within her school and has been a leader in implementing many outreach projects that include presentations to TJ faculty and students about integrity and Restorative Justice, planning a school-wide Ethics Day, providing presentations to FCPS teachers and Loudoun County peer mediators, participating in a webinar interview with Eastern Mennonite University, and presenting at the 2015 Peace It Together Conference at George Mason University.

As a member of the Student Government Association Executive Committee, Kristin participates in meetings which bridge the gap between students and administration. Last year she was a representative to the Homework Committee comprised of students, teachers, parents, and administrators, which worked to revise homework policies to help alleviate student stress. Through these various responsibilities, Kristin continues to apply her conflict resolution skills to help foster understanding among diverse groups as they work together toward a common goal.

Kristin summarizes, “My experience with Restorative Justice has taught me the importance of viewing conflict in context of the community as a whole. Facilitating personal accountability and helping others to understand how their mistakes impact our community is key to repairing relationships and establishing peace.”

2016-2017: TJ Minds Matter

TJ Minds Matter is a student-run organization focused on creating a community centered on support and collaboration, teaching respect for differences, and accepting strengths and weaknesses among peers. Its website summarizes, “Together, we can lift each other up.”

In a competitive school environment, TJ Minds Matter offers videos with testimonials from fellow students, teachers and even the principal who give practical tips on how to handle stress and disappointment. They also emphasize the importance of surrounding oneself with people who care. Along with the series of videos, the group provides resources about how to talk to someone in crisis and non-crisis situations.

Students in the organization make themselves available to any TJ student who needs a friendly ear. While the members clearly state that they are not professionals, they are trained to listen non-judgmentally, believing that listening is critical to helping an individual feel understood. As one officer states, “I am here to be a friend, and I'll listen to you vent about anything you need to talk about. … I don't think I'm very good at giving advice, but I am friendly and I won't belittle your problems.”

In January 2017, TJ Minds Matter hosted its annual Mental Wellness Week, in which special themes were planned for each day. When high school students share a day based on Random Acts of Kindness, Pajama Day, and Stomp out Stigma (associated with mental illness), members of the school community grow together in respect and understanding. School Social Worker Danielle Armstrong observes that TJ Minds Matter creates a more comfortable environment to talk about mental illnesses as the organization “promotes peace and builds bridges as it connects struggling students to resources and keeps the dialogue regarding mental wellness open.”

2017-2018: The TJ Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), Ash Rozzi and Other Officers

Ash Rozzi and his fellow officers of the TJ Gay Straight Alliance have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of gender and orientation issues at TJ.  They organized presentations on how to interact with transgender students and worked on a charity drive for Casa Ruby, a local LGBTQ organization. They put up posters and delivered morning announcements as part of a week-long campaign against homophobia and transphobia.  Ash and his fellow leaders have worked with school administrators on sensitive issues such as gender-neutral bathrooms and have provided support to GSA members and the general community with meetings and electronic communications.

2018-2019: Angie Sohn, Senior

As a Korean-American, Angie Sohn has a deep interest in Korean history, culture, and politics. She first learned about poverty and human rights abuses in North Korea through reading memoirs by North Korean defectors. Moved by these stories, Angie joined her school’s Humanitarian Aid to North Korea Refugees club (HANK) in her freshman year and now serves as its president.

To educate her peers about North Korean refugees, Angie planned presentations, showed documentaries, and encouraged dialogue to dispel misconceptions and to promote understanding. To enable HANK to help refugees directly, Angie contacted PSALT NK, a nonprofit that supports North Korean refugees resettled in America. Through this partnership, HANK sends school supplies and letters of encouragement to student-aged refugees. HANK members also send the refugees annual care packages with handmade holiday cards.

Angie also founded a fundraising team that raises money through bake sales for Liberty in North Korea, an internationally-recognized organization that helps to rescue and resettle refugees.

Angie serves as an executive of GIVE, a nonprofit started by 2013 Student Peace Award recipient, Kevin Cao. Volunteers for GIVE tutor culturally diverse elementary students, many from disadvantaged backgrounds. Angie has also participated in peaceful demonstrations to express her concern about issues affecting DACA students and the undocumented community.

Recognizing the achievement gap in her community, her own upbringing as a daughter of immigrants, and the opportunities she has received, Angie aspires to support other students and give back to her community.