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Students from 27 Fairfax County public schools have received the 2025 Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County, recognizing efforts that range from humanitarian relief and gun-violence prevention to disability inclusion, cultural understanding and food security.

The awards began in 2006 to encourage young people to view peace as both a goal and a way of creating change. Each year, Fairfax County high schools may nominate a junior, senior or student group whose work promotes peace. Volunteers organize the program, which is supported by donations from 15 secular and religious organizations.

The 2025 recipients

Sage Nagle of Annandale High School advances equity through her roles as a Student Equity Ambassador Leader and member of the Superintendent Student Advisory Council. She organizes Inclusion Revolution Week and Heritage Night, leads Annandale’s Special Olympics program and has coordinated events such as FanQuest, where the school community celebrates Special Olympics athletes.

Jayden Lee of Centreville High School founded his school’s Amnesty International chapter and serves as vice president of its Liberty in North Korea club and president of its UNICEF club. His projects include a two-mile “Water Walk,” during which students carry a gallon of water to raise money and better understand the distances some children travel for household water. He is also helping develop a database connecting students with local services and resources.

Nila Elangovan of Chantilly High School created the nonprofit N-Lighten English Tutoring Program in summer 2024. It provides free reading, writing and speaking instruction to underserved students in grades five through eight. The program serves 12 students, while its student leaders spend five to seven hours each week preparing lessons, homework, projects, games and quizzes for twice-weekly sessions.

Mia Martin-Escandarani of Edison High School works to confront antisemitism through education and conversation. She participates in the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Student-to-Student program, serves as a student ambassador and docent at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and takes part in the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal High School Internship program. She urges students not to remain silent in the face of wrongdoing.

Kiran Ashok of Fairfax High School co-founded FIRST For Youth in 2021 after gaining experience in engineering, programming and teamwork through FIRST Robotics. The nonprofit sends high school volunteers to low-income Title I schools to introduce robotics programs. Its 58 volunteers have contributed 625 hours, started 15 technology teams and raised $22,445.

Shri Bala of Falls Church High School promotes sustainability and equity in architecture. She established school chapters of the American Institute of Architecture Students and Habitat for Humanity and founded GOLD2GREEN, which developed self-watering planter buckets with the school’s engineering department. Through Hands on Harvests, the buckets and instructions reached more than 80 Falls Church families. Bala also self-published the children’s book “Kai’s Dream” and spoke nationally about minority representation and unequal resources in architecture studios.

Ava Saunders and Grace Varughese, co-presidents of the Students Demand Action chapter at Hayfield Secondary School, advocate for firearm legislation and secure gun storage. They have helped students establish chapters elsewhere, joined marches and traveled to Richmond for an advocacy day. There, they received a standing ovation from a crowd of 300 after speaking about adolescent gun deaths and safety in schools.

Clarissa Dantes of Herndon High School co-founded the Asian American Club with Sidney Ide to help students reconnect with their heritage and find community. Its activities explore different Asian cultures while providing a setting for acceptance, mutual support and constructive conversation.

The Muslim Student Association at Justice High School builds community among Muslim students while teaching classmates about Islam and Islamic culture. Members highlighted suffering in Sudan and Palestine during International Night and organized a school-approved demonstration about Palestine attended by several hundred Muslim and non-Muslim students. When a video drew hostile online comments, the group responded by inviting conversation and emphasizing Islam’s message of peace.

Manas Puri of Lake Braddock Secondary School has pursued peace through environmental, inclusion and service projects. His Eagle Scout project combined a litter cleanup with construction of a community garden. He serves on a school diversity and inclusion committee and coordinates service projects for the honor society. He also volunteered with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and, through Leadership Initiatives, raised money for medical equipment at a Nigerian hospital while supporting an entrepreneur in Nigeria.

Anniyah Rizvi of Langley High School was among 10 students — five Jewish and five Muslim — selected for Writopia Lab’s Connecting Across Cultures initiative. Over eight weeks, participants discussed antisemitism and Islamophobia and contributed stories, poems and narratives to “Connecting Across Cultures: A Collection of Writing by Ten Jewish and Muslim American Teens.” Rizvi also founded Words With Weight, an international online youth literary magazine that has published hundreds of contributors from more than 40 countries.

Madison McLaughlin of John R. Lewis High School co-founded the school’s Students Demand Action chapter. After the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School, the group worked with a local Moms Demand Action chapter to distribute 100 gun locks at a community event. McLaughlin also canvassed during the 2024 election and organized about 20 students to join a phone bank supporting a congressional candidate who favored gun-law changes.

Hunter Guthrie of Madison High School has prepared meals for the Embry Rucker Shelter since middle school. He later persuaded Panera and other businesses to donate unsold food, which he transports to the shelter several times a week. More than 300 Fairfax County teenagers from public, private and home schools have joined the effort. Guthrie has also researched how food waste contributes to climate change through methane emissions.

Ghalia Sakly of Marshall High School draws on her experience immigrating from Tunisia as a French speaker to assist newly arrived students. Through the Ambassadors Club, she helps them navigate school and make friends. She also belongs to UNICEF Club, which has collected food and coats, and founded Music Gives Back, whose members make music, discuss current events and support people in need, including those affected by Hurricane Milton.

Bushra Ehikhamenor of McLean High School is a student leader in the school’s Muslim Student Association, where she coordinates speakers and helps organize an annual interscholastic competition. She helped arrange a student demonstration supporting refugees and immigrants, uses social media to discuss the experiences of civilians and refugees affected by war in Gaza and provides food assistance through her mosque.

Jennifer Villalobos-Saenz of Mount Vernon High School combines an interest in medicine with her bilingual skills. She has presented health information about high blood pressure, co-founded the Medical Majors Club and supported a blood drive by assisting organizers and encouraging students to donate. She also tutors elementary and middle school students in her neighborhood.

Julia DeVera of Mountain View High School became an advocate for physical and mental health awareness after being diagnosed with alopecia areata at age 11. She trained as a legislative liaison for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and brought the issue to Capitol Hill. Through art and youth mentoring, she helps younger students understand that the condition is nothing to fear or hide.

Isaac Rodriguez of Oakton High School founded the Oakton Fishing Interest Club during his junior year. The club collects donated equipment and plans to install signs near fishing ponds encouraging environmental responsibility. Rodriguez also hopes to introduce more students to the calm and connection with nature that fishing can provide.

Jonathan “JJ” Johnston of Quander Road School uses art to cultivate inner peace and positively influence his classmates. School staff credit his leadership with helping other students calm down and find alternatives to anger. Teachers have also recognized his willingness to acknowledge mistakes, seek forgiveness and consider other viewpoints.

Jasmine Sklarew of Robinson Secondary School wrote, directed and edited “Ghost Girl: Three Stories, One Reality.” The all-female student film follows three young women whose experiences illustrate how girls can be criticized, restricted or abused. Sklarew also belongs to the Founders Ensemble at Precipice Theater Team and is helping the nonprofit develop a film division focused on social-action issues.

Ghazi “Zizo” Hanania of South County High School advocates for an end to the war in Gaza. He joined a group that met with State Department officials working on Middle Eastern and Palestinian affairs and created a website documenting Palestinian suffering, bombing, infrastructure destruction and hunger. His goal is to build understanding and support for ending war.

Jahnavi Nandanavanam of South Lakes High School performed violin at the three-day 2023 World Culture Festival on the National Mall in Washington. The event drew 400,000 attendees and was broadcast internationally. She performed in a 250-member Indian classical symphony accompanied by 600 dancers, presenting cultural exchange as a path toward understanding.

The TJ Send-a-Smile Club at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, represented by Yusra Wahidi, Claire Guo, Hasset Bekele, Maria Peralta, Marla Wisniewski and Sahra Abrar, sends messages of compassion and provides practical support. Its outreach has served people with breast cancer, nearby elementary students, TJ bus drivers, women living at a shelter and Moroccan communities affected by a devastating earthquake.

Salaiha Najeeb of West Potomac High School leads the Muslim Student Association and founded the Marhaba Club, which welcomes immigrant students and provides supplies to those who cannot afford them. She started cricket games to help South Asian students feel at home, mentors younger students and helped establish a prayer and meditation room. She has also brought Muslim, Jewish, Black and Hispanic student organizations together to socialize and work through religious and cultural tensions.

Simeon Samuel of West Springfield High School became committed to helping war victims after witnessing armed forces attack civilians in his Ethiopian neighborhood. As vice president of Spartans for War Victims, he has helped collect clothing, school supplies and hygiene kits for conflict-stricken areas, including Ethiopia. He led a congressional letter-writing campaign for additional humanitarian aid and helped organize a soccer fundraiser involving players from 30 Fairfax County schools that collected $5,000. Samuel also serves as executive director of GIVE Youth, which provides free tutoring and mentoring to more than 3,000 students.

Westfield Unified Sports, represented by Caroline Elson, Lilly Wilson, Charlie Ewell, Blake Sanders and Joey Wyatt, brings students with and without disabilities together through athletic training and competition. Now in its second year, the Westfield High School club uses shared sports experiences to strengthen inclusion, acceptance and bonds among teammates of different abilities.

Harun Khan of Woodson High School tutors three children of recent immigrants in English, drawing on his own family’s experience immigrating from Pakistan. He is developing a web application that would allow households to donate food nearing expiration to local food banks. As media manager for Woodson’s Environmental Club, he has also supported a gardening project that has grown, harvested and donated nearly 1,000 pounds of produce to Food for Others.