130 High School Seniors Graduate From Global Leaders Protect

FAIRFAX, VA — Local leaders honored 130 high school seniors for successfully completing the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program during a May 19 ceremony at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.

“There is a path of hope and a path leading to a better world, and you can make it so by building the political will to support it," said U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th), who was the event's keynote speaker. "Leaving the world better than you found it is the task for every generation, and everyone has a role to play. You don’t need to be a president or prime minister to have your voice heard.”

Students in the Global Classroom Project follow a course of study that incorporates United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the attributes of the Fairfax County Public Schools' Portrait of a Graduate. The aim is to teach them to think globally by applying those principles to projects they create that benefit the community. The effort is a partnership between FCPS and the Brookings Institution’s 17 Rooms program.

Although this year's class is the fourth one to complete the Global Classroom Project, it is the first to take part in the the 17 Rooms program at the K-12 level. The students participated in year-long projects applying the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals to the Fairfax County community.

After launching 17 Rooms during an en Oct. 9, 2023 event at John R. Lewis High School, the students developed projects to benefit the community. Projects ranged from creating a website with all the resources available for county residents living under the poverty line to creating a plan to organize all the food pantries located at county schools.

This summer the Class of 2024 Fellows will spend 26 days in China as part of a partnership with the China Folk House. During the trip, the fellows will visit leaders, universities, and historic and cultural sites, as well as participate in craft apprenticeships.

The following is a list of all 130 high school seniors who completed the Global Classroom Project this year:

• Christina Abouzeki, Annandale High School
• Aaya Abugabal, Chantilly High School
• Bibisha Acharya, Herndon High School
• Samie Adapa, Oakton High School
• Harika Akundi, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Laiba Ali, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Oliver Aminoff, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Jafita Asirvatham, Oakton High School
• Sahithi Atluri, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Rania Baamrani, Hayfield Secondary School
• Kaylee Baek, Chantilly High School
• Riya Bajpai, George C. Marshall High School
• Michael Banks, John R. Lewis High School
• Husna Basiri, Annandale High School
• Ruth Bekele, Lake Braddock Secondary School
• Cayden Bird, Robinson Secondary School
• Angela Bork, Fairfax High School
• Amira Bouhsane, Fairfax High School
• Avery Boyd, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Thea Brown Hargrove, Chantilly High School
• Marilena Bustamante, Fairfax High School
• Zeiah Caraang, Woodson High School
• Alexandra Caraus, Centreville High School
• Kaitlin Cascio, West Potomac High School
• Ebba Cha, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Kinnari Chaubal, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Katrina Chen, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Danbie Choi, Fairfax High School
• Ryan Dadoo, Langley High School
• Natania Daniel, Lake Braddock Secondary School
• Aneesa Das, Chantilly High School
• Nicole Deng, Oakton High School
• Tsion Deressa, John R. Lewis High school
• Alana Dillon, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Tranh Dinh, Fairfax High School
• Minh Do, South County High School
• Amisha Dwivedy, Herndon High School
• Adan Eftekhari, Fairfax High School
• Loor Elbedour, Centreville High School
• Tommy Fan, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Ethan Filgueira, Centreville High School
• Amelia Freund, Robinson Secondary School
• Om Gole, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Marco Gori, Oakton High School
• Sameera Gorthy, Chantilly High School
• Abby Grealish, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Sreeja Gudiseva, Oakton High School
• Gaby Gutierrez, Chantilly High School
• Caelan Hagopian, Woodson High School
• Christine Han, Fairfax High School
• Jonathan Han, Chantilly High School
• Vivian Hoang, West Springfield High School
• Grace Hong, Chantilly High School
• Delia Hunt, John R. Lewis High School
• Garv Jain, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Elliot Jang, Trinity Christian School
• Melanie Jones, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Esther Jung, South County High School
• Shaheera Kamin, Woodson High School
• Shivani Kanjerla, Fairfax High School
• Sahil Kapadia, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Aashma KC, Fairfax High School
• Minnah Khan, Chantilly High School
• Khadija Khan, Hayfield Secondary School
• Hera Kim, Robinson High School
• Cara King, Woodson High School
• Michael Know, Robinson Secondary School
• Kedar Krishnan, Robinson Secondary School
• Akshitha Kumar, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Nikhil Kuntipuram, South Lakes High School
• Ethan Larimore, South County High School
• Chloe Lee, Oakton High School
• Abigail Little, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Esha Lohiya, Oakton High School
• Maya Manchester, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Ambreen Mariyam, Robinson Secondary School
• Maya Martinos, South County High School
• Jake McDade, Robinson Secondary School
• Conner McNulty, Centreville High School
• Nilufer Molla, Fairfax High School
• Petra Muehlheuser, Langley High School
• Spoorthi Nadkarni, Westfield High School
• Huyen Nguyen, Westfield High School
• Claudia Nguyen, Robinson Secondary School
• Ashlee Nguyen, Oakton High School
• Melinda Nguyen, Woodson High School
• Nyla Nokta, King Abdullah Academy
• Cordelia Norris, George C. Marshall High School
• Devin O’Connor, Woodson High School
• Sophia Osman, Fairfax High School
• Inam Osmani, Fairfax High School
• Keira Overmann, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Cristina Pak, Langley High School
• Grace Park, Oakton High School
• Joanne Park, Centreville High School
• William Park, Fairfax High School
• Xavier Phan, Woodson High School
• Samiksha Prabhu, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Rushil Punukollu, Woodson High School
• Matthew Ramos, George C. Marshall High School
• Lauren Reddinger, Fairfax High School
• Angelina Richter, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Alexa Rubio, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Anuj Sanjay, Chantilly High School
• Eleanor Sardinas, Robinson Secondary School
• Jacob Sedaca, Trinity Christian School
• Ella Sedaghat, Oakton High School
• Ashwini Sigdel, Herndon High School
• Erik Siles-Hinojosa, John R. Lewis High School
• Jastirath Singh, Woodson High School
• Shriya Sirivolu, McLean High School
• Minah Sisco, Lake Braddock Secondary School
• Jenelle Smith, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Gelila Solomon, Robinson Secondary School
• Tylar Sparks, Fairfax High School
• Riya Takalkar, Oakton High School
• Xindi Tang, Oakton High School
• Kaitlyn Tarry, Chantilly High School
• Liya Taxali, South Lakes High School
• Ellie Teal, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Edina Tedros, Justice High School
• Tsion Teklebirhan, Annandale High School
• Abigail Tzeggai, Thomas A. Edison High School
• Maddie Wenger, James Madison High School
• Rediate Yohanes, Annandale High School
• Chris Yoo, Thomas Jefferson High School
• William Zhang, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Yushu Zhang, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Laura Zhang, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Brian Zhou, Thomas Jefferson High School