By Katie Arnoult
On April 28, The Youth Center held its 10th annual A Night Among the Stars ceremony, awarding 14 student nominees for their dedication in community service, volunteerism, and philanthropy. Specific nominees received a Stellar Volunteer scholarship of $500.
During the ceremony, each nominee was introduced by a member of the organization that nominated them, and they spoke about the student’s volunteer work. The students received certificates of recognition from the U.S. Senate and the Los Alamitos City of Commerce. The scholarship recipients were announced shortly after; scholarship recipients received a trophy and a check for $500.
All the nominees and the organizations that nominated them for this year’s ceremony are listed below.
Alex Phillips – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Bella Kim – The Youth Center, the Griffin Gazette
Elias Rae-Maristela – Summer Harvest Food for Kids, Inc
Hayley Dunn – Casa Youth Shelter
Khloe Tran – Los Alamitos Unified School District (LAUSD), The Youth Center Leadership Council, Los Alamitos High School (LAHS) Emerging Leaders club
Lexi Blankenstein – Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF)
Marisa Barlin – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Rhyann Diaz – Los Alamitos Ballet Theatre
Riley Silverman – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Rylee Robles – Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach
Sanaya Bose – Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach
Sarah Saadeh – LAHS, Girls in STEM
Sophia Fettkether – National Charity League (NCL)
Una O’Farrell – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
All the Stellar Volunteer scholarship recipients and the organizations that provided their scholarships are listed below.
Rossmoor Homeowners Association: Lexi Blankenstein
Rossmoor Woman’s Club: Hayley Dunn
Rossmoor Woman’s Club: Una O’Farrell
Rotary Award: Bella Kim
S.E.T.H. Scholarship: Sarah Saadeh
“As a female student with an interest in STEM, I was aware of the difficulties of pursuing a degree in a male-dominated field,” said Sarah Saadeh, a senior at LAHS. Inspired by this situation, Saadeh created Girls in STEM, a camp for young girls to inspire the next generation of female engineers and scientists. Working with The Youth Center, Saadeh built a curriculum for the seven-week-long program and watched her dream come to life.
“In just a few weeks, I witnessed a timid group of girls transform into the future generation of aspiring female scientists and engineers,” she said. “After completing two sessions of Girls in STEM, I am very thankful and humbled to have received the S.E.T.H. Scholarship from the Seal Beach Lions Club.”
Bella Kim, a sophomore at LAHS, was nominated for A.N.A.T.S. by The Youth Center and the Griffin Gazette, the LAHS school newspaper. She was awarded her scholarship by the Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach. As the marketing intern for The Youth Center, Kim creates social media posts and writes press releases that are published in local newspapers such as the Event-News Enterprise and Sun Newspapers.
She also represented the Griffin Gazette; as both a staff writer and editor, Kim has put in extra hours outside of class to publish articles, bringing her love of writing and leadership skills to the journalism program.
“I’m really grateful to The Youth Center for nominating me for this award and to the Rotary Club for providing me with this scholarship,” she said. “I hope to continue working with The Youth Center and Rotary International in the future.”
Una O’Farrell, a senior at LAHS, has been volunteering at The Youth Center and Camp SHARK for five years. Camp SHARK stands for “Science, Hand-On, Art, Recreation and Knowledge,” and it’s a summer camp for elementary school students that The Youth Center offers. O’Farrell has helped with crafts, games, and other activities at the camp, as well as going on field trips every week.
O’Farrell shared how, as someone who has grown up within LAUSD, volunteering is important to her because she has seen how impactful it can be. For her, volunteering is a way she can give back to the community, learn and gain experience, and impact others in a positive way.
“The Youth Center has become like my second family, and I was so honored to have been nominated by them for A Night Among the Stars and to receive a scholarship from the Rossmoor Women’s Club,” O’Farrell said.
Janae Roberts, the Youth Programs Supervisor and organizer of the A.N.A.T.S. event, said that it is important to recognize those who have put in the extra dedication of community service, so those individuals can continue to spread goodness to others.
“My hope is that more organizations become aware of this amazing event,” Roberts said. “That way, we have a larger variety of youth that are nominated. I hope that more youth who are selflessly devoting their time to others are able to be recognized for their work.”
For information about The Youth Center or A Night Among The Stars, please visit TheYouthCenter.org
On April 28, The Youth Center held its 10th annual A Night Among the Stars ceremony, awarding 14 student nominees for their dedication in community service, volunteerism, and philanthropy. Specific nominees received a Stellar Volunteer scholarship of $500.
During the ceremony, each nominee was introduced by a member of the organization that nominated them, and they spoke about the student’s volunteer work. The students received certificates of recognition from the U.S. Senate and the Los Alamitos City of Commerce. The scholarship recipients were announced shortly after; scholarship recipients received a trophy and a check for $500.
All the nominees and the organizations that nominated them for this year’s ceremony are listed below.
Alex Phillips – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Bella Kim – The Youth Center, the Griffin Gazette
Elias Rae-Maristela – Summer Harvest Food for Kids, Inc
Hayley Dunn – Casa Youth Shelter
Khloe Tran – Los Alamitos Unified School District (LAUSD), The Youth Center Leadership Council, Los Alamitos High School (LAHS) Emerging Leaders club
Lexi Blankenstein – Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF)
Marisa Barlin – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Rhyann Diaz – Los Alamitos Ballet Theatre
Riley Silverman – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
Rylee Robles – Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach
Sanaya Bose – Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach
Sarah Saadeh – LAHS, Girls in STEM
Sophia Fettkether – National Charity League (NCL)
Una O’Farrell – The Youth Center Camp SHARK
All the Stellar Volunteer scholarship recipients and the organizations that provided their scholarships are listed below.
Rossmoor Homeowners Association: Lexi Blankenstein
Rossmoor Woman’s Club: Hayley Dunn
Rossmoor Woman’s Club: Una O’Farrell
Rotary Award: Bella Kim
S.E.T.H. Scholarship: Sarah Saadeh
“As a female student with an interest in STEM, I was aware of the difficulties of pursuing a degree in a male-dominated field,” said Sarah Saadeh, a senior at LAHS. Inspired by this situation, Saadeh created Girls in STEM, a camp for young girls to inspire the next generation of female engineers and scientists. Working with The Youth Center, Saadeh built a curriculum for the seven-week-long program and watched her dream come to life.
“In just a few weeks, I witnessed a timid group of girls transform into the future generation of aspiring female scientists and engineers,” she said. “After completing two sessions of Girls in STEM, I am very thankful and humbled to have received the S.E.T.H. Scholarship from the Seal Beach Lions Club.”
Bella Kim, a sophomore at LAHS, was nominated for A.N.A.T.S. by The Youth Center and the Griffin Gazette, the LAHS school newspaper. She was awarded her scholarship by the Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach. As the marketing intern for The Youth Center, Kim creates social media posts and writes press releases that are published in local newspapers such as the Event-News Enterprise and Sun Newspapers.
She also represented the Griffin Gazette; as both a staff writer and editor, Kim has put in extra hours outside of class to publish articles, bringing her love of writing and leadership skills to the journalism program.
“I’m really grateful to The Youth Center for nominating me for this award and to the Rotary Club for providing me with this scholarship,” she said. “I hope to continue working with The Youth Center and Rotary International in the future.”
Una O’Farrell, a senior at LAHS, has been volunteering at The Youth Center and Camp SHARK for five years. Camp SHARK stands for “Science, Hand-On, Art, Recreation and Knowledge,” and it’s a summer camp for elementary school students that The Youth Center offers. O’Farrell has helped with crafts, games, and other activities at the camp, as well as going on field trips every week.
O’Farrell shared how, as someone who has grown up within LAUSD, volunteering is important to her because she has seen how impactful it can be. For her, volunteering is a way she can give back to the community, learn and gain experience, and impact others in a positive way.
“The Youth Center has become like my second family, and I was so honored to have been nominated by them for A Night Among the Stars and to receive a scholarship from the Rossmoor Women’s Club,” O’Farrell said.
Janae Roberts, the Youth Programs Supervisor and organizer of the A.N.A.T.S. event, said that it is important to recognize those who have put in the extra dedication of community service, so those individuals can continue to spread goodness to others.
“My hope is that more organizations become aware of this amazing event,” Roberts said. “That way, we have a larger variety of youth that are nominated. I hope that more youth who are selflessly devoting their time to others are able to be recognized for their work.”
For information about The Youth Center or A Night Among The Stars, please visit TheYouthCenter.org
