Ava Lett (12) lights up as she talks about Unique, a nine-year-old girl who Ava has seen grow up through her club, Make-A-Birthday-Wish. Unique was four years old when Ava first met her, and seeing how the smallest acts of kindness brought bright smiles to Unique’s face have helped Ava grow as a person.

The Make-A-Birthday-Wish club has been a formative aspect of Ava’s life since the beginning of high school. Ava’s time in the club, which organizes birthday parties for kids in low income housing facilities, taught her that simple joys like having a birthday cake each year can still be cherished moments.

“Volunteering puts things into perspective because a lot of people in our community grow up relatively privileged,” Ava said. “When I went to a birthday party organized with Make-A-Birthday-Wish, it put things into perspective for me. It helped me understand what I can do to make a difference, not just within this community but within other people’s communities who don’t live the exact same lifestyle as us.”

Ava greatly values kindness and helping others, treasuring the different ways she can contribute to making a difference in bettering someone’s day.

“I love getting to see the impact that you’re making on other people, even in small ways, such as if you smile at someone random, you could have made the other person’s day,” Ava said. “With community service, you don’t know how much of an impact that you make in other people’s lives. There’s something small that you can do all the time, and I think it’s really valuable to see other people when they’re happy.”

English teacher Bridget Nixon discusses the positivity Ava brings in a classroom setting. She describes Ava’s unparalleled enthusiasm for learning, enhancing the classroom environment, even over Zoom.

“Ava brought such a positive attitude every day, which I felt like was really special,” Nixon said. “She seems to get along with everybody. Having her energy in class made it more fun for me and everyone. She is very positive and affirming of others, and it is so refreshing.”

Close friend Emma Crook (12) further elaborates on Ava’s positive nature. Emma mentions how throughout their friendship, Ava never fails to lighten the mood through her humor and open personality.

“Ava’s spontaneous, and it’s fun to do things with her,” Emma said. “Sometimes, we will randomly start dancing — we’re not good dancers, but it’s really fun. We’re always joking around, and it’s nice that it’s never really serious unless we want it to be.”

Outside of community service, Ava brings positivity and her personality to her sports teams. Through playing soccer and wrestling throughout high school, Ava strengthened skills she believes help her even outside of sports.

“My favorite part of playing these sports is the leadership skills and teamwork skills I developed,” Ava said. “Sometimes I feel like I need to do everything by myself, so I think sports helped me develop a balance. Not always having to work not alone, but getting to work with other people and the team aspect, really helped me grow as a person.”

As Ava is passionate about bringing positivity into other people’s lives, she also channels this mindset through her artwork, a channel for her to express her own emotions.

“Since art is something I enjoy doing, it’s a distraction, a good way to get my mind off of things that might be stressing me out,” Ava said. “Painting helps express myself through different mediums — I do a lot of graphic art, with neon colors and bold shapes.”

Overtime, Ava has learned that positivity and persistence are key in dealing with obstacles. Through her passions surrounding community service and simply helping others, Ava has gained perspectives on how to persist through her own challenges and come out as a better person.

“If there’s something that I really want to do, then I will get it done no matter what it is,” Ava said. “That’s probably the number one thing that helps me get through things. I have learned that once you can start seeing the progress that you’re making, whether it’s something small, like painting, working out or simply schoolwork, once you get things done, the rewarding feeling that you get makes you want to keep going.”