Alexis Lewis is certified cool.
And being cool is a big part of what Youth Action is all about. The team works to make leadership, service, and activism a cool thing to do among high school and college students. Here at Youth Action, we believe that while students can have any interest, talent, or ambition in life, they can still find time to discover a love for service.
Making service a cool thing to do is what Friends Central School senior Alexis Lewis does well. During her time with Youth Action Alexis has mentored elementary and middle school students on civic engagement. She coordinated the organization of the team’s annual toy drive that collected over 2,000 toys and served children at five homeless shelters and two families. In addition, she has volunteered and helped organize YA projects such as a clothing drive for Haiti, the creation of a garden in North Philadelphia, and the development of a youth-led college readiness program geared to academically low performing high school students.
“That [Toy Drive] was the biggest thing I have ever coordinated. To see the toy drive happen helped me see all my service efforts come into fruition. All the things I had to learn about service and being a good leader helped put on that successful project. It helped me believe in myself….Although we[high school and college students] are young, if we just ban together in a group, then there is nothing we can’t overcome,” says Alexis.
Meanwhile, Alexis maintains good grades at Friends and has been selected to serve as her school’s commencement speaker. She is determined to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. Her first step towards this goal will begin this fall when she enters Widener University’s Nursing School on an academic scholarship.
“Ever since I was young, I always knew I had a passion for helping others. That’s why I chose the nursing profession because it is something I really believe in and something I enjoy doing,” expressed Alexis.
What makes Alexis special is that she balances academics, service, and fun very well. This is what defines service swag. That’s what we do at Youth Action. We put swag in service.