Serena Imani Korn: Is fond of time spent working for GRuB

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Avanti High School

Hometown: Olympia

Parents: Richard Korn and Patricia Imani

Best personal achievement: Speaking for Garden-Raised Bounty (GruB) at an Olympia Choral Society Christmas fundraiser in front of hundreds of people

How I spend my time: I spend my time at Garden-Raised Bounty, a nonprofit organization, going to school and enjoying my days as most teenagers do.

Favorite subjects: History – especially civics – art and English

Favorite movie: “Forrest Gump”

Favorite book: “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky are tied.

Dream job: To be a civil/human rights lawyer/activist, a Supreme Court justice, the president of the United States and an author.

Someone I respect: Blue Peetz, co-directer at GRuB. He has been my primary boss at GRuB as well as a teacher. He has taught me and my peers so many skills and given me so much knowledge which will both help me in my future.

College I’d like to attend: Realistically, The Evergreen State College, however I also dream of going to New York University in New York City.

Someone famous I’d like to meet: Beth Ditto of the band Gossip because she is a role model for women and girls everywhere. She is a very large supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. She is a lesbian. She also is very strong in her feminist causes. She speaks out against bullying and believes all women and girls are beautiful just the way they are, and they should be happy with themselves.

Someday, looking back on my life I’d like to be able to say: That I did something for the world. I want to be able to say that I helped people who really needed it; that I made an impact and helped better someone’s life.

Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: I believe the biggest challenge teenagers face in these times is a lack of respect from the older population. Many adults look at teenagers as rowdy children. We are rarely given opportunity to make big decisions, get a job, etc. We face an incredible amount of stress. School, especially high school, is one of the most stressful times in a teen’s life. We are pressured to meet standards and fit the “norm”. We are pressured to go to a good college and get a big, high-paying job. I understand that most parents just want the best for their child, but often times they do not give us the room to choose our own paths of life. We also face big obstacles in our lives. Some things many could refer to as “adult.” People are appalled that teens act the way they do, or get into the things that they do. However, they almost never do anything to address the situation or to let us figure things out.

One thing in the world I would change if I could: It’s really hard to choose just one, because there are so many horrible things going on in the world today. I would change the world to be free of discrimination of any kind. I believe that this, in turn, could end all sorts of things ranging from poverty to genocide. I would also end all war.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years: It’s also hard to really say where I see myself in 10 years. I hope that in 10 years I will be finished with all the schooling I need, and knee deep in the beginning of my career. I would also love to be living in New York City.

Staff comment: (Serena is) very active with activities involving social justice. She works with GruB, is the former Avanti Associated Student Body president, raises money for and brings awareness to global poverty and suffering through her affiliation with the Blue Nile Relief Group, and is a strong student leader at Avanti. She rarely gets the attention she deserves.

Mike Velasquez, principal, Avanti High School