Emily Renzelli certainly fits the definition of a young person who rocks. I've had the pleasure of advising her throughout the years and have seen her transform from a sheltered Appalachian girl to a confident global advocate.
During her Sophomore year, she traveled to South Africa to study community development. While there, she researched the effectiveness of the HIV/AIDS services there, and observed violations of patients' privacy rights. In order to combat that issue, she compiled a report titled, "Simple Steps Toward a Stigma Solution", which clinics now use to train staff members on how to protect the rights of patients.
Upon returning home from South Africa, Emily founded STANCE, which is a non-profit focused on getting young people involved in the same sort of projects Emily worked on in Africa. STANCE has successfully set up rural debate leagues in West Virginia, created a pen pal program which connects students from Africa to students in Appalachia, and sent hundreds of bednets to Africa. With assistance from STANCE members, Emily created a nationally recognized malaria campaign documentary, which Nothing But Nets is using to show others how to raise money for the cause. The video can be found here: www.*thepeoplespeak.org*/blogs/buzz-cut-winner-announced.html
Most recently, Emily traveled to Malawi to research the food crisis in the continent. She already has plans for STANCE to raise money to create school lunch programs in the villages.
To date, I have not met a student with more compassion for the African continent and dedication to get others involved in the issues she cares about than Emily.
I can be reached at: andrick52@hotmail.com. Emily's email is: emilyrenzelli@yahoo.com