[February 08, 2011]

Alaska's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 16th Annual National Awards Program

Zachary Boyden, 17, of Palmer and Ashton Lund, 13, of Wasilla today were named Alaska's top two youth volunteers for 2011 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 16th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Zachary was nominated by Colony High School in Palmer, and Ashton was nominated by Fronteras Spanish Immersion Charter School in Wasilla. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2011 at that time.

Zachary, a senior at Colony High School, has been writing biographies of the residents of a local retirement home over the past two years to learn about the struggles of their generation and to share with others the wisdom they have gained over the course of their lives. When Zachary's great-grandmother moved into Primrose Retirement Communities, his father suggested that he write her biography. "Outside of what few stories she had told me, I knew little to nothing of her life," Zachary explained. As he began to interview her, he discovered "an infinite quarry of knowledge that I had never thought about," he said, and was consumed by the opportunity to "see the last century from the perspective of someone who lived through it."

After recording his great-grandma's recollections, Zachary realized that other residents at Primrose might have equally interesting stories, so he obtained permission from the administrators to write biographies on all of them. He explained his plan to the residents at meetings and during lunch sessions, and played piano for them in the dining hall to help win their acceptance. Zachary then drafted a 40-question interview template, and began conducting interviews that ranged from less than an hour to three days. "I looked at every interview with the same promise to each resident: I was willing to write down everything they were willing to tell me," he said. He then compiled the three- to five-page biographies, along with photographs, into numerous anthologies for the residents and their families. Hearing firsthand and recording all the memories that have been shared with him "has been the most fulfilling feeling I have had in my life," said Zachary. "I've developed a far greater respect for my elders and past generations than I had previously."

Ashton, an eighth-grader at Fronteras Spanish Immersion Charter School, traveled to Mexico to translate Spanish for her grandparents during a goodwill visit to a church there. When her grandparents were planning their trip, the pastor of their church suggested that Ashton go along to translate, since she had been attending a Spanish immersion school since kindergarten.

She began studying Spanish harder than ever, and when she arrived in Mexico, she spent five full days translating church services, conversations with the pastor and congregants, and everyday activities such as shopping, cooking, and cleaning. "What motivated me most was the prospect of reaching out to the less fortunate in Mexico," said Ashton. "That has inspired me to do my very best at Spanish, from now on, so that some day I can go back when I am fluent and thak them in perfect Spanish," said Ashton.

In addition, the program judges recognized two other Alaska students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Olivia Pfeifer, 17, of Soldotna, a junior at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, raised $6,000 to protect nuisance birds at the Kenai Municipal Airport with her "Airport Bird Control Dog" (ABCDog) program. Olivia, who won the "Caring for Kenai" contest with her idea, not only raised the funds to lease a trained border collie to chase the birds, but took care of and worked alongside the dog at the airport.

Anna Wichorek, 18, of Anchorage, a senior at West Anchorage High School, founded the "After School Music and Movement Program (AMP)" for underprivileged students at a local elementary school. Anna seeks volunteer artists for the program, arranges concert schedules, attends each performance, and moderates a discussion period for the students following each concert.

"These award recipients have proven that young people across America are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world," said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "Each and every one of these honorees deserve our respect and admiration, and we hope by shining a light on them, they will continue to serve as an example for others."

"The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need," said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation's schools today."

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. More than 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital's landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them - five middle level and five high school students - will be named National Honorees on May 2 by a prestigious national selection committee. These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

Serving on the national selection committee will be John Strangfeld of Prudential; Jana Frieler, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America's Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross' national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Barack Obama. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 95,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Laura Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP's mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.nassp.org or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/

Editors: Graphics depicting the award program's logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.

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