Saturday, February 11, 2017

Vikram receives Georgia Top 20 Youth Leaders award, Receives Turner Voices Innovative Leadership award

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards (GYLA) is 21CL’s signature fundraising event honoring and celebrating 20 outstanding high school leaders from across the state. Since 2008, the Georgia Youth Leadership Awards (GYLA) has been 21CL’s signature fundraising event. It is the culmination of the multi-platform student- led and focused “Let Youth Voices Be Heard” awareness campaign during National Youth Leadership Month in February.

During an evening of dinner and entertainment, 21CL honors the significant and impactful contributions of 20 high school students across Georgia who have demonstrated outstanding leadership skills in areas of community service, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, and leadership.

Each youth leader awarded exemplifies the five leadership qualities that truly embody a 21st Century Leader: passionate, forward-thinking, leverage diversity, resourceful and service oriented. The top 20 youth leaders are selected by a committee of business professionals and high school peers.

2017 Event Overview
On Saturday, February 11, 2017 at the College Football Hall of Fame, hosted by WSB-TV Chief Bureau, Tony Thomas, over 250 business and civic leaders from metro Atlanta, including our Georgia Youth Leadership Award presenters, members of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40, came together to celebrate the 20 outstanding youth leaders. Through all of our corporate sponsors, each winning youth leader was awarded with a $250 mini-grant and one special youth leader will be awarded the distinguishing Turner Voices award and $1,000 grant for their extraordinary work. Congratulations to Vikram Ruppa-Kasani who was presented with the 2017 Turner Voices Innovative Leadership Award.

21CL is proud to announce the Class of 2017 for the Georgia Youth Leadership Awards

View each student winners bio here. Each student will also be featured on our student blog post.
  1. Veda Balaji – Lassiter High School, Class of 2019
  2. Roopsha Bandopadhyay – Milton High School, Class of 2017
  3. Amal Bhatnagar – Northview High School, Class of 2017
  4. N’Nasseri Carew-Johnson –  Westlake High School, Class of 2017
  5. Alviez Chagan – Grayson High School, Class of 2017
  6. Sekou Foley – Mount Pisgah Christian School, Class of 2017
  7. Dalton Green – Gordon Lee High School, Class of 2017
  8. Xavier & Edward Holliday – Westminster Schools, Class of 2018 & 2017
  9. Alexis Law – Terrell High School, Class of 2018
  10. Patricia Mitchell – Colquitt County High School, Class of 2018
  11. Cecily Mohammed – Chattahoochee High School, Class of 2018
  12. Skylar Nicholson – Central Education Center, Class of 2017
  13. Festus Ojo – Westlake High School, Class of 2017
  14. Jordan Purcell – Arabia Mountain High School, Class of 2017
  15. Vikram Ruppa-Kasani – Chattahoochee High School, Class of 2018
  16. Shreya Shah – Walton High School, Class of 2017
  17. Austin Sharpe – Alexander High School, Class of 2017
  18. Lauren Smith – Harris County High School, Class of 2017
  19. Christopher Weaver – Lovett School, Class of 2017
  20. Alvin Winston, II – Charles R. Drew Charter School, Class of 2017