Leila Nuri is a junior at Emery Weiner High School in Houston, Texas. She is on the board for her school’s Students Demand Action Club and is a part of the Black Lives Matter and feminism clubs. She is greatly passionate about social justice and human rights and uses writing as a way to advocate. She is active in her mother’s Judaism, as well as the mix of various other religions in her family. Outside of this, Leila likes to play and listen to music, and remains in touch with her artistic side.

Miriam Niestat is a junior at Kenwood Academy High School in Chicago, Illinois, where she is a member of the girls’ lacrosse team and plays trumpet in the jazz band. Miriam serves as president of Kenwood’s Best Buddies Chapter and is an officer of Youth and Government. As a 2020-21 Or Tzedek intern with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), she learned about the intersection of Judaism and social justice and has continued her activism with the JCUA’s Youth Organizing Caucus. Miriam is always up for a meaningful conversation and loves hanging out with her dogs, Pointer and Mordechai.

Sam Mezrich is a senior at Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a captain of her school’s forensic speech team, as well as a member of Model UN. At her synagogue, Sam is president of her synagogue youth group. Sam loves reading, biking, and playing bass guitar. In her free time, she can be found listening to Phoebe Bridgers, walking her dog (Phoebe, like Phoebe Bridgers), and drinking boba.

Noa Karidi is a junior at Milken Community School in Los Angeles, California. She is the assistant editor of her school's literary magazine and head of the creative writing club. Noa is a member of the Girl Talk Planning Team and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, which both work to create an environment of equality. She is a part of Global Beit Midrash which brings together Jewish schools around the world. She's a theater lover and a member of the International Thespian Society. Noa enjoys writing poetry, listening to music, painting, and hanging out with friends and family.

Olivia Gnad is a senior at Quaker Valley High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the senior captain of her mock trial team and loves anything related to law. She is also president and founder of the debate club and is the education leader of her school’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance. She is a cellist, an Irish dancer, and a painter. When not arguing about something, she can be found studying Jewish history, making a Spanish omelet for her friends, or poring over the newest book in her collection.

Adina Gerwin is a senior at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York. She spent her junior year living in Hamburg, Germany as a Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Fellow. Adina is a contributing writer and editorial board member of the youth-led international interfaith magazine KidSpirit. She also co-leads her high school interfaith club and is involved in the peacebuilding organization Seeds of Peace. She has published articles with KidSpirit, JGirls Magazine, and Fresh Ink for Teens, and was a Bronfman Fellow this past summer. Adina loves playing with her dog, studying Talmud, listening to music, and going on long walks. 

Sonia Freedman is a junior at Menlo-Atherton High School in Northern California. At her school newspaper, she started “The Music Moment” and “Dear Bearby,” an advice column. She is also co-president of her high school’s book club and holds a part-time job at an independent bookstore. Sonia is the sh'licha (community service organizer) for her chapter of BBYO, where her focus is on sustainability, and she was a CIT at Camp Tawonga last summer. In her free time, she makes elaborate Spotify playlists, spends time with friends and in nature, and browses thrift shops.

Tessa Cooperstein is a senior at Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto, California. She was also fortunate to spend last fall at an art school in Napa, California. Tessa has been a CIT at the local JCC summer camp and a madricha (youth counselor) at her synagogue. She volunteers for Days for Girls, an organization that provides sustainable menstrual health solutions to girls who would otherwise miss school during their monthly periods. Over the last few years, Tessa has done service work in Guatemala, such as doing projects with children at an orphanage, delivering bunk beds and stoves to people in rural areas, and providing health education to young women. In her spare time, Tessa enjoys listening to music, doing art, or watching true crime documentaries.

Samantha Berk is a junior at Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts. One of her greatest passions is writing, and she is an award-winning opinion writer for her school’s independent newspaper as well as a peer writing tutor. On Saturdays, she can be found sleeping late, playing goalie in field hockey or lacrosse, or competing for Milton’s Speech Team, where she is the Public Address Chair. She is co-head of her school’s Jewish Student Union, and sits on the boards of RYFTI, a Jewish youth group in Boston, and the Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston, a philanthropy initiative. In her rare moments of free time, she is often puzzling through the New York Times crossword, walking her dog, Kensie, or playing guitar.

Nora Auburn is a junior at the Bronx High School of Science in New York City. She is the secretary of her school's Model UN team, where she enjoys researching global issues and debating geopolitical conflicts. She worked with her peers to plan 2022’s NYC Climate Strike, where tens of thousands of students walked out of school to protest climate inaction. Nora loves playing guitar and producing music with her friends and family. You can probably find her studying Russian, creating an elaborate sandwich, or talking a walk in the park with her friends.