H-F Alum Continues Lifelong Mission To Help Others

HOMEWOOD, IL - Jade Greear has been known in the Homewood and Flossmoor communities for years as a brilliant young mind making a difference at the local level. Now, as a sophomore at Michigan State University, the 2016 Homewood-Flossmoor High School alum is expanding her impact on a national and even worldly level.

Just recently, Greear announced on social media that she has been accepted into a public health study and will study abroad in Nepal next year.

"I’ll have the opportunity to research a disease and it’s implications in vast areas of health including human, animal, environmental, and food/water safety," said Greear, whose been involved in community efforts ever since she was a first grader. "At the end of the trip, I’ll present my research to faculty at a university there."

Greear's community involvement, which also involves her part in numerous groups and organizations at Michigan State, is nothing new. Her journey as a young activist, volunteer and blogger was profiled in an episode of Lifetime's "Live Life Forward."

As a Health and Society major in school, Greear said she has been able to find others in college who are just as passionate and who give back as much as she does.

“There are more than 900 student organizations at Michigan State, and I’ve been able to find many places where I can serve others,” she said.

Many of her recent accomplishments have come through her involvement with The Allstate Foundation and its Good Starts Young program.

"We were inspired by her passion and dedication from the very beginning," said Laura Freveretti, senior program manager at Allstate. As the first-ever youth co-chair at a WE Day event the next year, Greear "served alongside many distinguished individuals," including Allstate CEO Tom Wilson who Freveretti says "is truly passionate about youth empowerment and supporting youth so they can use their ideas to transform our world for the better."

Greear's continued involvement included being a judge at this year’s Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young Rally, which awarded 10 youth teams across the country with creative approaches to addressing societal issues like bullying, homelessness and community violence.

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Greear says she is thankful to Allstate "for their endless support" and "access to opportunities."

A life of volunteerism began for Greear back in first grade when her mother, Paula Thornton, had her participate in eco-friendly campaigns and plant a garden at Highlands Elementary School in Edina, Minnesota, where Greear attended from kindergarten until third grade.

“My mom always told me that beauty is not on the outside, that it’s on the inside,” Greear said. “She has been a huge motivation for me helping people.”

Now, Greear is following her mother's footsteps again at Michigan State. At the same school her mother graduated from years ago, Greear is involved as the volunteer coordinator for the Spartan Association for Public Health, on the student health advisory council and a member of the Forget About Me, I Love You group that offers mentorship, community service, and financial literacy to ensure financial stability through different facets of life.

And those are only a handful of the activities she's involved with while earning her degree.

Freveretti considers Greear "an amazing young woman." An example as one of the young people Allstate is "committed to empowering in their communities."

"She is a change-maker and leader," Freveretti said of Greear. "She accomplished great things in high school, and now as a college student is taking her volunteerism to a whole new level... We are so proud of everything Jade has accomplished and can’t wait to see what she will do next."

What's next will be that trip to Nepal, which will come less than a year after a trip to Asia.

"I am so excited to have the opportunity to travel to Africa and Asia within a year’s time, and I owe it all to my amazing mother who works endlessly so that I can achieve my dreams," she said.

Photo provided