Civic-minded teens chosen for summit
While many teenagers consider summer break a time to hit the beach or languish on friends’ couches, fingers fastened around a Wii control, and abandon even the slightest thought of a book, some — including two students from Queens — will be spending a few hot days inside the Beltway.
Tammy Tran, a Woodhaven resident and senior at Thomas Edison Career and Technical Education High School and Melisa Bardhi, a Ridgewood resident and recent graduate of Grover Cleveland High School, are among 230 of the nation’s top high school juniors and seniors who will head to Washington, D.C. on July 19 for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s weeklong Student Leadership Summit.
The summit aims to inspire students to serve their communities. Through a series of interactive workshops, educational seminars and hands-on activities, the event will provide students with an understanding of the importance of community service, as well as the role nonprofit organizations play as community anchors.
Tran and Bardhi were selected for their leadership and community service, as part of Bank of America’s program, the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. In addition to attending the summit, students participate in eight-week long internships at various nonprofits. Both Tran and Bardhi will intern at the YMCA of Greater New York.
©Queens Chronicle 2010
