Discus Awards

Humanitarian. Musician. Leader. Meet Michael Young, a senior from Arizona. Michael has been recognized for his achievements in community service, arts, and other achievements.

At age 12, Michael founded a charity golf tournament for Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Animal Assisted Therapy Program. So far, the tournament has raised an outstanding $250,000! Michael has helped thousands of children through his work, and has enabled the program to expand greatly.

An accomplished saxophonist, Michael has played in his middle school jazz band and junior varsity jazz band. Currently he is the Lead Alto in his varsity jazz band. He even has his own CD!

Additionally, Michael has been very involved with HOBY (the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Organization.) As a sophomore, he was chosen to represent his high school at the HOBY conference, and later attended the HOBY World Leadership Congress. To read more about Michael’s achievements, visit his winner’s profile.

Filed under: Live 'n' Lauren • All-Around High School Students • Discus Award Winner of the Day

Don’t have a 4.0 GPA? Don’t worry. There are a number of merit scholarships available for those who don’t have the highest grades or test scores.

If you excel in multiple areas, the Discus Awards College Scholarship might the scholarship for you. The Discus Awards College Scholarship provides $2,000 each month of the school year to one Discus Award winner. Discus Award winners are all-around high school students who excel in three of the ten Discus Awards attributes. Whether you’re an artist, academic superstar, and tech guru, or you’re a community service leader, green ambassador, and entrepreneur, the Discus Awards College Scholarship can help you find money for college.

If you’re very involved in your community, a community service award might be for you. The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes honors young people who have made a significant difference to people in the community and to our planet. Twenty-five young leaders are honored each year nationwide. Half of the winners focus their efforts on protecting the environment, while the other half directs their efforts on their communities and fellow citizens. Nominees must have led a remarkable activity that has proved beneficial either to other people, the community, or the planet.

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Filed under: Live 'n' Lauren • College Prep • Financial Aid & Scholarships

Live ‘n’ Lauren: Let’s start with the present. How is senior year going so far?

Jaimee Alsing: Pretty good. Right now I’m working on trying to expand my business more before I start college.

LL: Do you have any idea where you are going to school yet?

JA: Its between Colorado State University and UC Davis.

LL: What do you plan on majoring in?

JA: Conservation biology.

LL: Will you still be involved with Colorado Care Co. and your other activities in college?

JA: Definitely Colorado Care Co., and I will probably play in the college orchestra if I get in.

LL: Speaking of Colorado Care Co., how did you get started with that?

JA: I bought a giant textbook called Crustacean Nutrition. I read it and took a lot of time studying it so I could thoroughly understand it. To make the food I take fresh produce, freeze dried shrimp, and bloodworms and combine it in a mix that makes it nutritional for the animals.

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Filed under: Live 'n' Lauren • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

Bonnie Lei was the recipient of the first 2010-2011 Discus Scholarship awarded in September 2010. The Discus Awards recognized Bonnie for her incredible achievements in green, community service, and arts. Bonnie is a real go-getter, and I’m excited to share with you what she had to say. Enjoy!

Live ‘n’ Lauren: You founded a sister school connection between your high school and a school in rural Nepal. How did you get involved with that?

Bonnie Lei: Last summer I went on a service trip to Brazil through Earthwatch. Although I went there to help researchers, I quickly realized that Brazil’s education system was lacking, as are many other education systems in third world countries.

 I wanted to help boost education in developing countries, so I researched schools through NAMLO International and emailed the founder of the school in Nepal. Traditionally, sister schools are created by a principal or other administrator, but because I took the initiative to email the founder, I was able to create the program myself.

LL: What exactly do you provide for the school?

BL: Other classmates and I prepare creative learning materials for the students. Instead of just memorizing math problems and English grammar, I feel that it is better for students to have more creative learning. For example, for math we create things like board games to help students with percentages and fractions. For English we write creative storybooks with basic English so the students can learn the language more effectively.

We have actually been able to create many more materials than we initially realized. I’m trying to save up money to take a trip to Nepal and deliver some of the materials myself.

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Filed under: Live 'n' Lauren • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner