2015 Youth Ambassadors - English

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Malinda Pitts, 39 (Mentor) Malinda is from Bella Vista, Arkansas and has nearly 20 years of experience as an educator. She is currently a Spanish teacher at Springdale high school who also teaches English and is finishing her endorsement in teaching English as a second language. During her free time she enjoys camping, hiking, being outside and spending time with her family. Malinda loves traveling and has previous experience assisting several summer camps as well as trips to Spain, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Her greatest desire is to be able to see how this experience will empower youth participants to transform their communities. “The youth of this generation are often labeled apathetic by older, more seasoned generations. However, I understand that what others may see as apathy is more a desire to explore the world around them in new ways.�

Valentina Nicole Catinella, 17 Valentina is from Plantation, Florida and enjoys volunteering, playing soccer, cooking and baking. Her favorite school subjects are Anatomy, World and U.S. History, Aerospace Science and TV production. She currently volunteers at blood drives, with AdoptA-Roads, and with a teaching youth group. She is a strong advocate of the community and wants other young people to be active and aware of their communities. As a Youth Ambassador she wants to bring change and positive influence back to her community. Valentina hopes more young people in her community become aware of educational and extra-curricular opportunities so they gain an appreciation for their communities.

Sophia Semensky, 17 Sophia is from Port Orange, Florida and enjoys giving back to her community. Sophia volunteers at her local library, participates in drives, is an organizer for her schools Spanish Club, and has organized a pen pals group with a community in Spain. She wishes to experience life in different countries and societies to build her own awareness of the global community and different ways of living. In the future she would like to increase environmental awareness through recycling, and sustainable waste management.

Sophia also wants more community participation in health and human rights campaigns. She dreams of someday becoming conversant in multiple languages, and to live in different places.

Benjamin Zhang, 16 Benjamin is from Topeka, Kansas. He is very active in his community where he volunteers in several different programs such as Music for the Sole, Let’s Help, and the Salvation Army.

He wishes to have the opportunity to fully immerse himself into an unfamiliar culture and language to help improve his cultural awareness. Benjamin enjoys speaking to others, and uses his speaking skills through his participation in Debate and Forensics.

In the future, he plans to pursue a college degree in a form of engineering, and hopes to someday pursue a PhD. As a Youth Ambassador he aspires to use his developed skills to help others in the U.S. improve their cultural awareness.

Paige Johnson, 16 Paige is from San Antonio, Texas and enjoys playing the violin and piano. Currently, she actively serves as a delegate at the Model United Nations conferences. She is intrigued by current events and international affairs. Paige dedicates a lot of time to service by advocating for higher education opportunities through GenTX and the San Antonio Youth Commission (SAYC). In addition, she has contributed to projects through Habitat for Humanity. She aspires to major in International Relations with a minor in Spanish with the hopes of serving in the Peace Corps after college. Paige is considering a political career in diplomacy. By being a Youth Ambassador she wants to be a liaison in hopes of overcoming unnecessary cultural barriers.

Stephan Rigel Chamberlin, 17 Stephan is from Miami, Florida. His volunteering includes being a boy scout with different organizations like the Camillus House homeless shelter, where he delivers food to the homeless. He helps scouts complete their Eagle Scout service project which benefits the community. In the future he hopes to help immigrant students who barely speak English participate in a program that helps them learn connect with others using that language. He eventually would like to join and serve for an extensive time period for the Air force Academy. After that he plans on studying law, where hopefully he can put to use his writing and communication skills. He comes from Miami a very multi-cultural city and wants to be completely immersed in another culture like Colombia.

Myah Hobgood, 15 Myah is from Charlotte, North Carolina. Her future goals and dreams are to study Business Management and International Affairs.

On her free time she enjoys baking, cooking, swimming, watching movies, and making new creations with her sewing machine. Myah currently volunteers in Big Sweep which involves cleaning trails and local parks in the Charlotte area. In addition, she tutors her peers in Math and Chemistry, and is a swim instructor. She is interested in different cultures and in the aspects that make them unique. One day she hopes to be able to travel around the world and relate her experiences to her culture.

Soren Kremer, 16 Soren is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He enjoys rock climbing, swimming, music and writing. He is a member of a rock climbing team, the Young Fiddlers Association, scouting projects, and attends church events. Soren’s favorite school subjects are Science (Biology, Chemistry and Geology), English and Math. He plans to attend college after high school and would love to someday be a part of a scientific mission to Mars. As a Youth Ambassador he hopes to be able to bring change and positive influence back to his community. He is excited to hear how Spanish is spoken outside of the classroom and be fully immersed in Colombian culture.

Diana Martinez, 16 Diana is from Springdale, Arkansas and enjoys swimming, shopping, sewing and running. She dreams of someday traveling the world and working in the medical field. In the past she organized a toy drive for foster kids and helped set up a clean-up event that raised money for a children’s hospital. Also, she volunteers at her local library and has helped clean up at the Razorback Stadium and Lake Fayetteville. As a Youth Ambassador she hopes to be able to become a better leader and to share her knowledge with others in her community.

Daniel Campos, 15 Daniel is from San Antonio, Texas. His interests include exploring the outdoors and directing videos. He aspires to attend the University of Texas at Austin to study cinematography in hopes of directing his own films in the future. Making videos is a huge hobby of his, and strongly believes that a short film can bring awareness to everyone in a community and make a huge impact on everyone. Daniel volunteers for the San Antonio Food Bank, the San Antonio Rodeo, and the Basura Bash. He wants to explore the Latin America and everything it has to offer to prepare him for his future.

Juana Barroso-Aldaco, 17 Juana is from Springdale, Arkansas, loves playing the clarinet, reading, listening to music and babysitting. She someday would like to attend New York University or Harvard University. Juana is thinking about being a lawyer or a psychologist someday. She currently volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, at her local library, at the Lake Fayetteville Clean-up and has volunteered at the Glow in the dark Soccer Tournament. Juana wants to improve her community by keeping it clean, since she grew up in a nature state she takes pride in volunteering in Springdale to keeping the city clean. She is very passionate and hopes to make the world a better place for her future children.