2020 Recipients

Arianna Jefferson

Case Western University, Cleveland Ohio

With her ability to engage whomever she meets, Arianna is described as one “who loves to raise awareness of all the amazing events going on at school. She doesn’t want students to miss out on anything just because they were unaware. She knows how hard her peers have worked to organize performances, competitions, and community events and believes they deserve the support of their peers”. Her positivity is visible as she works to create environments where others have the opportunities to be their best selves. Within NNHS, Arianna challenged herself as a cheerleader and a lacrosse player. She was involved as a peer tutor, LINK crew team member/commissioner, and President of the Black Student Leadership Assoc. Acknowledging Arianna’s ability to speak to community issues, she was invited to participate on a District 203 Student Panel discussing the Vaping Epidemic, and another panel with District administrators regarding development of more inclusive diversity in academic staff and course work. Arianna’s next step is to attend Case Western University pursuing dual majors in Nursing and Spanish.

Eric Chen

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Eric enjoys challenging himself and is described as one who is truly invested in others, NNHS, and the broader community. A coach wrote of him: “…he consistently showed unbelievable sportsmanship at all times, a role model for younger athletes and teammates, pushing himself in a manner that motivated others to raise the “whole” team. He was great at reading the room, telling a joke when our team needed to loosen up but could also completely dial in during drills and games, and helped others focus as well.” In another setting, this academic athlete with a passion for science and economics, influences the Huskies community as President of the Business Professionals of America club and Captain of the Science Olympiad team. Simultaneously, infusing his ability to inspire, he engaged within District 203 middle schools, working with students to promote and develop science in “hands on” presentations. Check out his start up not-for-profit on-line: The Power Up Project that provides refurbished computers to youth centers, now in 3 states! Not a surprise the University of Pennsylvania has welcomed him into their business and computer science programs.