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Students and organizations representing 25 Fairfax County public high schools and two private schools received the 2025 Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County on Sunday, March 2.

The ceremony at the Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax recognized young people whose advocacy, leadership and community work have promoted peace and understanding.

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly spoke at the event. The U.S. House of Representatives is also recognizing the recipients by entering their names into the Congressional Record.

The 2025 awardees were:

  • Annandale High School — Sage Nagle
  • Centreville High School — Jayden Lee
  • Chantilly High School — Nila Elangovan
  • Edison High School — Mia Martin-Escandarani
  • Fairfax High School — Kiran Ashok
  • Falls Church High School — Shri Bala
  • Hayfield Secondary School — Ava Saunders and Grace Varughes
  • Herndon High School — Clarissa Dantes
  • Justice High School — Muslim Student Association
  • King Abdullah Academy — Essam Jazzar
  • Lake Braddock Secondary School — Manas Puri
  • Langley High School — Anniyah Rizvi
  • Lewis High School — Madison McLaughlin
  • Madison High School — Hunter Guthrie
  • Marshall High School — Ghalia Sakly
  • McLean High School — Bushra Ehikhamenor
  • Mount Vernon High School — Jennifer Villalobos-Saenz
  • Mountain View High School — Julia DeVera
  • Oakton High School — Isaac Rodriguez
  • Quander Road School — Jonathan Johnston
  • Robinson Secondary School — Jasmine Sklarew
  • South County High School — Ghazi “Zizo” Hanania
  • South Lakes High School — Jahnavi Nandanavanam
  • Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology — Send-a-Smile Club
  • West Potomac High School — Salaiha Najeeb
  • West Springfield High School — Simeon Samuel
  • Westfield High School — Westfield Unified Sports
  • Woodson High School — Harun Khan

The awards program began in 2006 to encourage people to view peace as both a method and an objective while honoring young peacemakers. Each year, every public high school and two private high schools in Fairfax County are invited to select a junior, senior or student group whose work has advanced peace.

Margaret Fischer, an event organizer and co-founder of the program, said Megan E. Corrado served as keynote speaker. Corrado is acting deputy director of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and is affiliated with the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. She also teaches gender, human rights and international law as an adjunct professor at George Washington University.

Volunteers organize the awards, which are financed by donations from 17 secular and religious organizations. Sponsors include the program’s founders and the Herndon Friends Meeting, a Quaker community in Herndon.

Recipients were also set to receive copies of “Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree: 61 Stories of Creative & Compassionate Ways out of Conflict,” donated by author Mark Andreas and the publisher.

Students turn advocacy into action

Centreville High School senior Jayden Lee founded his school’s Amnesty International chapter, where students learn about human rights and advocate for them. As president of the UNICEF club, he organized a Water Walk in which students carried a gallon of water for roughly two miles. The event raised money for UNICEF while illustrating the distances some children travel to obtain water for household use.

South Lakes High School senior Jahnavi Nandanavanam participates in a 250-member Indian Classical Symphony accompanied by 600 dancers. She said the performance celebrates human unity and demonstrates how cultural exchange and artistic diversity can help people move beyond conflict.

Ava Saunders and Grace Varughese, co-presidents of Hayfield’s Students Demand Action chapter, advocate for policies intended to reduce gun violence. The nonpartisan organization supports secure firearm storage, firearm legislation and candidates based on their gun-policy positions rather than party affiliation.

Saunders and Varughese traveled to Richmond for the organization’s advocacy day. They received a standing ovation while discussing guns as the leading cause of death among adolescents and arguing that students deserve to feel safe in school.

Justice High School’s Muslim Student Association works to support Muslim students while teaching classmates about Islam and Islamic culture. The group organized a school-approved demonstration about Palestine that drew several hundred Muslim and non-Muslim students.

When a video of the event attracted hostile online comments, members chose not to answer with hostility. Club President Dania Eldirdiri said the students instead sought conversation and responded with the message that Islam is a religion of peace.

Jonathan “JJ” Johnston, a Quander Road School senior, uses art to cultivate inner peace that influences his relationships and other areas of his life. School staff credited his positive leadership with helping calm students and showing classmates that anger is not the only response to difficult situations.

Edison High School senior Mia Martin-Escandarani works to confront antisemitism through education and dialogue. She participates in the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Student-to-Student program, which encourages respect, curiosity and empathy, as well as the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal High School Internship program.

Although conversations with people who disagree with her can be difficult, Martin-Escandarani said she has learned to stay calm. She also stressed that people cannot remain silent bystanders when confronting wrongdoing.

Connolly delivered a similar message at the 2019 awards ceremony, also held at the Sherwood Community Center. He told that year’s recipients that peacemaking can anger others and sometimes involve danger, but always demands courage and commitment.