Humanity Rising VOICES

Angela Ma, Katie Sze, and April Wu are high school seniors attending Fremd High School in Palatine, IL. In May 2020, they founded the volunteer organization Budding Companions with the goal of promoting optimism and providing companionship to senior citizens amid the coronavirus pandemic. Through virtual conversations, games, performances, and other interactive activities, they have been able to foster a special intergenerational connection between students and senior citizens. Budding Companions has currently reached over 30 nursing homes across America with a growing network of over 100 student volunteers.  

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Anouk is a 16 year old spoken word poet and organizer. She is the founding Executive Director of the Celebrating Differences Organization, an organization focused on promoting neurodivergent awareness, allyship and inclusivity. She has spoken after prominent figures such as Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, peace activist Ela Gandhi and San Juan, Puerto Rico mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and her work has been recognized by the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Times Herald and more.

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Pankti Mehta is a rising Junior at the North Royalton High School. Thoroughly passionate about making a positive impact, she is the founder and president of Compassion During Corona: a non-profit that aims to provide upliftment to the global community amidst these times of uncertainty. The website for this organization, with around 10,000 viewers and a 98% success rate in improving the mood of those who visited, has received attention from the Cleveland Clinic and the Dalai Lama. Mehta's favorite subjects are math and computer science. In her free time, she enjoys art, playing tennis, and (surprise!) typing tests.  

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My name is Rhea Sharma, and I am currently a freshman at Northwestern University as a part of the Honors Program in Medical Education. I am proud to have co-founded Skulls and Drills with my sister 2 years ago, and I am excited to continue to expand our efforts.   

My name is Ranya Sharma and I am currently a junior at Barrington High School in IL. I feel fortunate for the platform that Skulls and Drills has provided us to give back to the community. I am excited for all of our future endeavors!  

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Ria Sharma is high school female athlete and president of a Non-Profit Organization called Limitless Lacrosse that provides opportunities and support to the future generation of female athletes through lacrosse mentorship and experiences. Girl's Lacrosse is a more recent uprising sport and girl's typically aren't introduced to it before 8th grade, where as sports such as soccer and gymnastics are introduced to kids as they begin to walk. Limitless Lacrosse allows the youth to learn from high school mentors, others to donate lacrosse equipment/funds, share lacrosse experiences on a blog portal, and inspire lacrosse interests.

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Allen Ruppel is the founder of Unity in Motion and served as the organization’s Executive Director for the first 20 years. He is currently serving as the organization’s Development Director. He is also the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Hope Christian Schools network and a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Urban Teaching. He is also the Founder of Unity in Hope elementary school in Islamabad, Pakistan which began operations in the year 2020.  

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When things don't go his way, Mission Hills High School senior Andrew Diep-Tran merges economics and entrepreneurship to fight it. So, frustrated with the lack of economic classes and clubs in his community, he founded operationEconomics International (OEI), a nonprofit teaching it to 1,800+ students in 18 chapters across 7 countries and 5 U.S. states. Be it through running OEI, organizing his school district's first TEDx event, or advocating for pro-business policies, it's clear he loves nothing more than one thing: to clear and chart the terrain for others, so they don't have to.

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Kevin Locke (Lakota name: Tȟokéya Inážiŋ, meaning "The First to Arise"; born 1954) is Lakota (Hunkpapa band) and Anishinaabe. He is a preeminent player of the Native American flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist, fluent Lakota language and sign language speaker, and educator.  

Mr. Locke uses folk arts to emphasize universal themes that are integral to all peoples. Universality of human spirit, its inclination towards peace, balance, harmony, and a longing that all human beings have for the Divine Springtime are a few central themes that he displays in his hoop dance, which is essentially a prayer for the unification of all mankind. Using his folk arts as a vehicle, Locke shares this prayer with children and adult in groups ranging from 50 to 55,000 people at a time. Even though he has performed in many prestigious venues to innumerable dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama, his favorite audience continues to be children and youth.  

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Jeffrey Ramos is the host of Becoming: The Podcast and is a freelance production member in the film industry. His film Heir was officially selected by the New York Latino Film Festival, Silicon Valley Asian Pacific film festival, and San Francisco Latino Film Festival. He currently works for Uptin Saiidi, a contributor to MSNBC and nonprofit healthcare clinics doing social impact work. He enjoys hobbies such as dance, reading, and drinking boba. [email protected]  

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Joseph is a young professional who is passionate about social justice. He currently serves as the Project Director for ReachAcross, an international non-profit. He also is the Lead for an online response platform responding to COVID-19 challenges known as Solve Squad. Additionally, he is a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum. [email protected]  

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