Suburban students win Prudential volunteer awards
A Lake Park High School student has been named a “state honoree” by the Prudential Spirit of Community awards, and several other suburban students were named finalists.
The program applauds young people who are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities.
State honoree Elizabeth Lee, 18, of Bloomingdale, is a senior at Lake Park High School in Roselle. She teaches children and parents the importance of brushing and flossing through presentations, games, books and a website, all of which she developed herself.
While an intern at local dental office, “I noticed what many dentists notice, a clear lack of daily brushing and flossing,” said Elizabeth. “Then I realized that I don't have to be a dentist to help people.”
Elizabeth prepared teaching lessons for children and parents; created PowerPoint presentations; designed games; wrote a song, and drew up coloring sheets.
She also held a fundraising event and a school collection drive to be able to hand out basic dental supplies.
Elizabeth held sessions for three adult English classes and then tried it out on children at a refugee day-care center. Recently, she has begun teaching special education students and putting on dental exhibitions in her school's science classes.
Named last month to the Daily Herald's DuPage County Leadership Team, Lee has written two children's books on dental hygiene and created tinytoothbrush.com as an informational resource for kids, parents and teachers.
Finalists
• Henry DeTrempe, 17, of Barrington, a senior at St. Viator High School, helped raise $175,000 through the Alpine Children's Charity, an organization he helped create with his family. For four years, Henry has been president of the junior board, recruiting and coordinating volunteers and helping to coordinate the annual Skiathon, which benefits children's charities.
• Alana Dreimann, 16, of Lake Forest, a junior at Lake Forest High School, has raised nearly $90,000 over four years to support the Hualalai Ohana Foundation, which provides academic and medical support for employees of the Hualalai Resort in Hawaii and their families.
• Karina Kedo, 18, of Lake Forest, a senior at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, created Stop Texting and Talking in Cars Now Illinois, to address the dangers of teens talking or texting while driving. Karina raised $20,000 to buy two virtual driving simulators, hosted an event for her school and made her presentation available to high schools throughout Illinois.
• Lauren Tasiopoulos, 17, of Libertyville, a senior at Libertyville High School, has raised $60,000 for pancreatic cancer research since founding the “I Want to Be a Lifesaver” campaign in 2006. Spurred by the tragic death of her 9-year-old cousin from pancreatic cancer, has coordinated events to raise money, including skating events, silent auctions and corporate donor programs.
• Ellen Wildman, 16, of Geneva, a junior at Geneva Community High School, has raised more than $50,000 to benefit a local homeless shelter through a garage sale she's held for seven years. Ellen raises awareness about homelessness by presenting each customer with information about the shelter and the plight of the homeless.
• Jonny Cohen, 15, of Highland Park, a sophomore at Highland Park High School, designed “GreenShields,” polycarbonate shields attached to school buses to decrease pollution and increase gas mileage. After designing a prototype, Jonny recruited the school's environmental awareness club and secured a $26,000 donation from a national online voting campaign to fund the prototype testing and rollout.