The City of Suwanee has named the members of its fourth Suwanee Youth Leaders Class.
According to a press release from the city, these students were chosen based on a combination of the strength of application, feedback from a student-led selection committee made up of recent SYL graduates, recommendations from teachers and school administrators, academic performance, and extracurricular resume.
SYL is an eight-month leadership program for high school sophomores and juniors who attend public, private, or home-based schools and live within the North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge, or Collins Hills cluster districts. The program centers on civic involvement, leadership skills, and volunteer opportunities. SYL develops young leaders through structured monthly educational programs and teambuilding activities. Participants gain genuine exposure to local initiatives and community and civic leaders, while also allowing the City to engage with youth providing a strong voice and active role in planning the City’s success. Meetings, led by local leaders, include subjects such as leadership principles and practices, ethics in society, law and justice, and community involvement. The program culminates with hands-on service opportunities at Suwanee Fest, serving alongside adult volunteers from the community.
The SYL Class of 2016 recently won a Southeast Festivals and Events Association Bronze Kaleidoscope Award for Most Creative Idea for collaboration between the Suwanee Youth Leaders and Suwanee Fest transportation. SYL also won an Atlanta Regional Commission 2016 CREATE Community Award in the category of Educational Excellence.
“The Suwanee Youth Leaders program allows the City to make a genuine commitment to the youth in our community,” said Suwanee Downtown Business & Development Manager Adam Edge, a co-leader of the program. “While it’s an honor to win a CREATE Community Award, it’s an even greater reward to see kids becoming invested in their community through this initiative.”
Thanks to SYL, said Assistant City Manager Denise Brinson, “We now have a group of young people who have more knowledge of their community and how local government works and the work that goes into building community. The City wanted to develop a real connection with our schools and find a way to meaningfully encourage youth involvement as prescribed in our strategic plan – not just checking a box, but building sincere, authentic relationships.”
Youth Leaders Class of 2017:
Collins Hill High School
Eyoel Binyam
Lea Dulcio
Ayden Endberg
Kwame Gaba
Michael Hall
Nicholas Ives
Tierra Lindley
Sadie Maxwell
Hanna-Karina Mueller
Debora Munoz
Katherine Rhodes
Donovan Richart
Juan Rivas
Elliott Veal, Jr.
Andrew Winton
North Gwinnett High School
Jack Beasley
Prashasti Borikar
Grey Brinson
Judith Chang
Ram Chatoth
Harrison Craft
Ami Dave
Cathryn Davis
Eric Delgado
Beckley Froebel
Aryan Gupta
Grant Kersey
Malcolm Hutchinson
Riana Kim
Kipling Len
Anna Masino
Wesley Miller
Olivia Packer
Rohan Patel
Adrian Tate
Jannie Yang
Lillian Zhang
Peachtree Ridge High School
Mia Bouchelle
Megan Brown
Sean Shen
Alyssa Dula
Kyran Hainje
Abby Le
Edwin Jang
Jin Jeon
Sunmin Kim
Daniel Ko
Holly Langenderfer
Jessie Lowe
Leonardo Maduro-Salvarrey
Mclane Murphy
Anjali Natvar
Cameron Palmer
Zarah Punjwani
Grant Seroyer
Kathy Shen
Amber Shillow
Hassan Siddiqui
Eunji Yoo
Gwinnett School of Math, Science, & Technology
Lama Zaabab
Home School
Ella Austin
