Ajanae Massenburg has dedicated herself to helping others and defending many different minority groups.  Before enrolling at Hayfield, she lived in Brasilia, Brazil for three years and attended the American School of Brasilia. She and her high-school community collaborated with a local women’s shelter to obtain hygiene products through US Embassy families and students who attended her school.  Together they supplied needy women with combs, brushes, pads/tampons, and baby formula. Ajanae also worked with her step-mother to distribute donated food packages to homeless shelters and churches.  Every other Sunday they went shopping and then personally delivered non-perishable items.

The members of the National Junior Honor Society chose Ajanae to be the Service Coordinator to represent the Gender Sexuality Club.  She was also selected to be a Diversity and Inclusion Representative, and she worked with other students to speak up for the underrepresented students in her school and to make all students feel welcome and at home.

Ajanae was selected to be a presenter at her high school’s first Diversity and Inclusion Community Day in 2022.  She described her own background and her hope to make other international students feel comfortable and accepted.  She encouraged students and faculty to use accepting language and advocated for the recognition of unique cultures through international events.

Since enrolling at Hayfield Secondary School a year ago, Ajanae has participated in a variety of community service events such as packing bags of non-perishable items for the underserved communities in Alexandria and serving at a luncheon for senior citizens.  She is also a member of Hayfield’s chapter of Minds Matter, a national program which works to empower young people from diverse backgrounds to achieve mental wellbeing and healthy coping skills. Ajanae was invited to participate in B.R.E.A.T.H.E., a developing new group which promotes mental health and coping mechanisms.

.Ajanae says, “Serving is something I have and will continue to do with enthusiasm throughout my life. I want to support young people who may be confronted with difficult challenges similar to the ones I’ve faced throughout my life, and save other young women from having to experience the hardships I went through.”