Anna Rudy is This Week's Whiz Kid

• Stoneham Patch Whiz Kid of the Week
• Anna Rudy, 7
• Accomplishment: Rudy has been selected as a store winner in the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program. She was recognized for her efforts to raise money to help wildlife impacted by last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Rudy raised $1,462 for the National Wildlife Federation.

Key to Awesomeness: Rudy has been taking classes at the , the New England Aquarium and Mass Audubon. She then went on to design a mock animal habitat that can be viewed at the Animal Discover Center at the Stone Zoo.

“I made a habitat for a Golden Lion Tamarin. It is about the size of a shoe box with no lid and one side is clear plastic,” Rudy said. “Inside, I used real branches to represent trees. I also have little platforms for the monkeys to go on and ropes to represent vines so the monkeys can get from tree-to-tree.”

When Rudy was asked what it meant to her to be selected as the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program winner she responded, “I think I’m lucky and special because I won it. I worked very hard because of my love and care for animals. I really wanted to help the animals in the oil spill.”

Rudy made the walk for the National Wildlife Federation because she truly has a soft spot in her heart for animals.

“I wanted to walk for them because I really like what they did to help animals,” Rudy said. “They help sick animals and really care about them.”

Rudy has set a goal to clean up the earth to help wildlife through her day-to-day activities.

“I love animals and really don’t want any type of animal to go extinct. I want to do everything I can to help animals,” Rudy said. “If we clean up trash, the world will be a better place for animals. For example, sea turtles eat jellyfish, but they can mistake floating trash for jellyfish. If they eat the trash, they will get sick. So, it’s very important to keep the world a clean place.”

Rudy also previously raised more than $500 for the World Wildlife Fund by selling homemade bookmarks door to door. She also gave a presentation to her kindergarten class on Earth Day on how to make less trash.

For her efforts, Rudy won a $50 Kohl's gift card. The scholarship program has recognized more than 15,000 kids (ages 6-18) and awarded more than $3 million in scholarships and prizes, according to the program website.