Santa
Monica Teen Named CNN “Heroes” Finalist |
By Lookout Staff
December 7 -- Santa Monica High School student Josh Miller
was one of three teens named CNN Heroes finalists in the "Young
Wonder" category for his work on easing racial tensions after
his friend Eddie Lopez was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Miller, 17, established the "Resilient Youth Foundation," a student-run
nonprofit group dedicated to motivating high school students of all backgrounds
to succeed in school and in life, according to CNN.
Selected from thousands nominated online as ordinary people whose work has
had an extraordinary impact on the lives of others, Miller was acknowledged
during "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," a live global telecast that
aired Thursday.
“Josh is a shining example of how one person can create real and positive
change,” Schools Superintendent Dianne Talarico said in a statement.
“He’s a great guy and quite inspirational,” said Shane McLoud,
a teacher who worked with Josh at one of the inner city schools and a former
SMMUSD Board of Education member.
As part of “Resilient Youth,” Miller established a scholarship
program that recognizes students who demonstrate academic excellence. So far,
five students have received the Eddie Lopez scholarship.
Miller also produced a documentary and created a program called “Rewards
for Results” that rewards at-risk middle school students for improving
their grades.
“As a result of Josh’s efforts, more than 700 students have improved
their GPAs, work ethic, and citizenship,” Talarico said..
Kayla Cornale invented a teaching tool for people with autism that links language
to sounds.
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Miller was chosen after viewers in 80 countries submitted more than 7,000 nominations
to CNN.com/Heroes between May and September.
“Josh's passion for evoking positive change increased when his teammate,
classmate and good friend Eddie Lopez was killed in a drive-by shooting,”
CNN officials wrote in a statement.
“Despite the two friends' diverse backgrounds, they often discussed difficult
topics and even aspired to tackle racial tensions that divided their school.
As a star athlete with a 4.0 GPA, Eddie had hoped to be the first in his family
to attend college.
The other finalists were Kayla Cornale, 18, of Burlington, Ontario, and Dallas
Jessup, 16, of Vancouver, Washington.
Cornale devised a way to teach her autistic younger cousin how to talk, read
and express emotions through melodies played on a piano.
Jessup produced "Just Yell Fire," a video designed to teach young
women and girls how to escape an attacker after she watched a disturbing
video of an 11-year-old girl being led away by the man who would
later abuse and murder her.
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