On May 20 we honored our fourth Prospect Sierra Alumni Action Award (PSAAA) winner, Maya Drexler, Class of 2006. Maya was recognized for her amazing leadership in the “Boss of Me” campaign, which is aimed to reduce and raise awareness about teen dating violence. The Boss of Me Campaign is a California-wide teen dating violence prevention campaign sponsored by Blue Shield of California. Over the past several years, Maya has devoted countless hours toward developing multimedia presentations, videos, posters, and managing a $1.3 million dollar budget for her projects. Her commitment to ending teen dating violence inspired the Prospect Sierra Student Council to choose her as the winner of this year’s PSAAA. Maya likewise thanked Prospect Sierra for fostering in her the values of serving others and building her confidence that she could make a difference in the world.
Finalists for the PSAAA this year were:
Matthew Bedrick ’04 is a student at Yale University. Matt has been spearheading major fundraising and awareness campaigns for the Yale Homelessness and Hunger Action Project. Matt came up with creative ways to raise significant amounts of money to keep shelters in New Haven, CT, open during the rough winter months, saving people’s lives by doing so. Passionate about eradicating poverty and homelessness in the world, Matt credits Prospect Sierra for giving him essential skills to lead, collaborate, and organize groups to take action.
Oliver James ’05 is a student at Stanford University, and an avid naturalist and conservationist. His project, the Stanford University Fauna Forever LLC PES Conservation took him to the Peruvian Amazon where he worked as part of a team to support conservation efforts. An impressive scientist and problem-solver, Oliver is an inspiring young leader whose interests in wildlife and protecting the environment were cultivated since he was a kindergartner at Prospect Sierra.
These outstanding alumni represent the skills and values that are at the core of a Prospect Sierra education. They have demonstrated the deep, meaningful understanding, independent and critical thinking skills, and compassion and respect for others that are part of the school’s mission statement. When asked how Prospect Sierra influenced them in their lives, each student noted that the importance of service, appreciating their common humanity, and finding their passions were key elements of their education in the elementary and middle school years.
At the upcoming TEDx GoldenGateED Conference on June 11, hosted by Prospect Sierra and the Greater Good Science Center of UC Berkeley, we will highlight compassion, a key skill for the 21st century that has clearly been demonstrated by our alumni action award honorees. With so many challenges facing our world, education needs to be about much more than teaching students to find fame or fortune. We must teach them to find meaning in their lives, which research has shown starts with helping others.
Please join us by registering for the conference at www.tedxgoldengateed.org. This is a not-to-be-missed event, including speakers and performers who are both local (PS parents Dacher Keltner, PhD and Christine Carter, PhD) and global (as far away as Nepal). You will hear about groundbreaking scientific research on teaching and parenting, and inspiring stories from across the globe about ways in which compassionate heroes have made a difference in their communities. You will hear world-class music, take part in hands-on workshops, and enjoy a wonderful dinner with the sunset over the Bay as your backdrop. I hope to see you at TEDx on June 11 at the magnificent Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, 1:00–9:00 p.m.!