Gisele Araujo, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Class of 2019, represented the school at the annual EDGE Youth Leadership Conference held May 26 to 28 at the University of California Berkeley’s Clark Kerr Campus.

Over the past 15 years, EDGE has trained and encouraged thousands of young leaders in the region.  This year, approximately 160 high school sophomores from all around California attended the three-day conference.

In addition to representing her school at the conference, Araujo was re-elected to the Associated Student Body Board. She is a leader in the Rotary-affiliated INTERACT club, the Model United Nations and the Spanish Language Honor Society. 

Araujo recently traveled to Thailand with he school’s Biomedical Group where the students did volunteer service.

Araujo received Most Valuable Pilot recognition from the junior varsity  swim and volleyball coaches. 

She says that she is looking forward volunteering at both the Alameda Free Library and the Exploratorium in San Francisco this summer. 

Araujo encourages others to consider participating in the Intergenerational Model UN program on UC Berkeley campus on Oct 7. Participants will discuss plans to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change in the future. 

EDGE students participate in a variety of leadership exercises, including hands-on activities and opportunities to engage with well-renowned speakers.

The EDGE program is designed to cultivate students’ communication skills, foster their capacity for teamwork, and help them build resilience in the face of obstacles. EDGE also encourages students to find ways to make a positive impact on their community through volunteerism.

The non-partisan, non-sectarin conference was completely run by  volunteers. 

Instead of teaching students who attended the conference what to think, EDGE encouraged them to consider different points of views and draw their own conclusions. To learn more about EDGE and the recent conference, website at www.edgeyl.org.