High School Student of the Year

2024 Winner - Morgan Summerton

As a dedicated member of the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, Morgan has earned the Silver Award and is on track to achieve the Gold Award, the highest honor for a Girl Scout. Her impactful project aims to educate first responders and law enforcement agencies about effective communication with deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers. Recognizing the serious implications of misunderstandings in emergency situations, she is advocating for legislative changes that would allow for a disability notice on driver's licenses, ensuring better interactions and outcomes for those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Morgan’s personal experience with hearing aids drives her passion for advocacy. For three years, she has mentored a younger girl with hearing loss, providing guidance and support that has made a significant difference in her life. In addition to her advocacy work, Morgan is an honors student and a member of both the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society. She is treasurer for her 4-H club and actively involved in two others focused on archery and riflery.

2023 Winner - Anna Kual

Anna Kual is a junior at Manchester Central High school and founder of the Student Advocacy Committee, a student run advocacy group whose mission is, “to reach out and uplift all students regardless of race, gender, or physical ability.”

Anna also presented the idea to host the very first diversity celebration for Black History month to the Student Advisor Committee. In February 2023, Central High School’s Student Advisory Committee (SAC), in partnership with GEAR UP and the Boys & Girls Club, hosted the first Lift Every Voice Summit.

When she isn’t advocating for others, you can find Anna studying for her advanced placement courses, playing sports, or interning for Teach for America.

2022 Winner - Vidushi Sharma

Vidushi is a senior at Hanover High School and the leader of the Environmental Club and Environmental Justice Committee. She is involved in many other activities. She is kind, caring and loves her community.

A short list of her achievements to date are attending the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth in D.C. as well as interning at Dartmouth Cancer Center. She also was invited to present the Hanover High School Climate Action Plan to the New Hampshire Local Solutions Energy Conference and New Hampshire Senate.

2020 Winner - Erin Strike

Since identifying her intended career as nursing with a focus on health care policy, Londonderry High School student Erin Strike has focused her volunteer work in the healthcare field, while actively volunteering in New Hampshire politics. Erin started getting involved in her community during her sophomore year with her first volunteer work for Home, Health & Hospice followed by fundraising for Boston Medical Center. When those opportunities ended, she began a long-term volunteer position as an Assistant Coach to the Londonderry Middle School field hockey team. When the season was over, her involvement with NH politics began by volunteering on the Pete Buttigieg campaign. She helped organize and participate in multiple youth-voter registration information sessions to educate young New Hampshire voters on how they can register to vote and use their vote. After the NH Primary, she was selected as one of two high school students for a volunteer position at the Democratic National Convention. In addition to her political volunteer work, she is a member of class representatives, Model UN, serves on the board of the Debate Club, and recently founded a Young Democrat Club to promote local political involvement with her peers all while excelling academically and ranking in the top 30 of her class.

2019 Winner - Caroline Dillon

Caroline Dillon is a recent graduate of Spaulding High School in Rochester. Since the fourth grade, Caroline knew that she wanted to grow up to be a certified nurse-midwife or women’s health nurse practitioner. This dream inspired her at age 17 to champion a bill that would ensure no young girls would miss school or risk infection because they couldn’t afford feminine hygiene products. In addition to her remarkable impact on the community, Caroline was actively involved in her high school, graduating as a New Hampshire Scholar in the top ten of her class. she served as the President of the French Honor Society; the secretary of the National Honor Society; and a member of the marching band and chorus. For her all-around good work, she’s received numerous scholarships. In the words of her nominator, quote – “Caroline Dillon’s combination of compassion and courage makes it unlikely that there is anything she can’t accomplish. Her brain has lead to her success in the classroom, but her heart will ensure she will be successful in changing the world.”