Ambassadors Lead Ambassadors
The NSHSS Ambassador Program is built around student leadership.
Ambassador leaders help shape program activities, support fellow Ambassadors, lead student communities and projects, create opportunities for involvement, and bring the student perspective into the continued growth of the program.
Meet the students helping lead the Ambassador community.
The Ambassador Council oversees the program’s student-led initiatives, with Committee Leads managing key areas of the program, Support Team Leads coordinating specific activities within those committees, and Club Leads building student-led communities around shared interests.
Council members serve at the highest level of student leadership in the Ambassador Program. They help set program priorities, oversee major areas of Ambassador activity, support other student leaders, represent the Ambassador community, and work closely with NSHSS staff to shape the program’s direction.
President
The President helps guide the Ambassador Program as a whole, works closely with NSHSS staff, supports student leaders and initiatives, and helps keep the Council and Ambassador community moving toward shared goals.
Adaliz is a Senior at Pepin Academies in Pasco campus, FL. She is also a graphic designer, author, tutor, and passionate student rights advocate, with hobbies ranging from painting, sketching, and sewing to piano, gardening, clay sculpting, and filmmaking.
Vice President
The Vice President supports the President and Council, helps coordinate Ambassador activities and program operations, and assists with leadership initiatives across the Ambassador community.
As a student leader, Sofia supports Ambassador engagement, helps represent the Ambassador community, and contributes to the continued growth of student-led initiatives within the program. Sofia has also been involved in creative student projects as the co-producer of Star Dust Animation, a student-led animation studio, where she has helped develop original creative work alongside fellow NSHSS members. In her role as Ambassador Vice President, Sofia brings a thoughtful, collaborative, and creative perspective to supporting student leadership and community-building within NSHSS.
Outreach Coordinator
The Outreach Coordinator helps guide Ambassador outreach and student-created communications, supporting initiatives involving content, social media, community engagement, and other ways Ambassadors share their voices.
Cristina is a senior at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also a member of DECA, student government, and The Hill (the student-run newspaper), with hobbies ranging from DIY projects to baking.
Ambassador Advocate
The Ambassador Advocate represents the needs and perspectives of the broader Ambassador community, supports student engagement, helps connect Ambassadors with resources, and oversees initiatives focused on community and peer support.
In this role, Shishir helps represent the voice of Ambassadors and supports new student-led initiatives, including NSHSS Ambassador Clubs. He is also a co-founder of CEP, a nonprofit extension of Aigolearning that helps students strengthen their academic skills and prepare thoughtful, authentic college applications that reflect their goals, values, and personal stories.
Committee Leads manage structured Ambassador teams with ongoing responsibilities. They guide committee members, organize priorities and projects, keep their teams accountable and engaged, and coordinate with the Ambassador Council and NSHSS staff to move committee work forward.
Content Creation Committee Lead
Helping Ambassadors turn their ideas and experiences into student-created content for the NSHSS community.
Cali is a 18-year-old senior at Colony High School in California. She’s been an ambassador since May 2025 and plans to apply for the Collegiate Council when the time comes. Her dream is to study medicine, work for the FBI, and eventually have her own farm. In her free time, she enjoys reading, lifting weights, cooking, and talking to her dog.
Social Media & Community Engagement Committee Lead
Helping Ambassadors engage thoughtfully with the broader NSHSS community and bring authentic student perspectives into online conversations.
Abigail is passionate about using creativity and communication to connect with others and build meaningful relationships within the community. She enjoys creating engaging digital content, encouraging collaboration, and helping others stay informed and involved. She is excited to support the team’s mission and make a positive impact.
Slack Engagement Committee Lead
Helping create an active, welcoming Ambassador Slack community through conversations, activities, prompts, and community-building initiatives.
Priscilla is a high school Junior at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences in Oklahoma. They are active in their Student Government and plan to be the Student Council President. They are starting their own passion project, which will be an inclusive magazine called Mosaic Voices.
They enjoy all forms of art and are currently taking musical theater and digital photography. They are a passionate advocate for LGBTQ rights, Disability rights, and Basic Human Rights. Priscilla wishes to attend Brown University to major in Creative Writing and minor in Philosophy. In their free time, they enjoy writing, reading, playing video games, and watching films.
They wish to be a part of politics, as well as doing something with writing, and being this committee lead is just a step on their way to their future.
Senior Mentors Committee Lead
Leading experienced Ambassadors who help welcome, guide, and support newer members of the program.
Support Team Leads and Co-Leads coordinate flexible, activity-based groups within Ambassador Committees. They organize specific initiatives, create opportunities for Ambassadors to participate, guide contributors, and keep their Committee Lead informed on team activities and progress.
Coffee Chat Support Team Lead
Creating informal opportunities for Ambassadors to meet, talk, exchange ideas, and build connections with one another.
Savannah (Sav) is a rising high school senior and an aspiring human rights attorney who is passionate about social justice, policy, the arts, and advocacy. She currently serves as the Coffee Chat Team Lead, and has served on her school’s Student Advisory Committee as well as in various Pride boards in her area. Outside of advocacy, social justice, and academics, you can find Sav making music on her violin, researching random topics, spending time with family, or writing.
Coffee Chat Support Team Co-Lead
Creating informal opportunities for Ambassadors to meet, talk, exchange ideas, and build connections with one another.
Reddit Newsletter Support Team Lead
Leading a student-driven initiative that helps turn relevant Reddit conversations and community insights into useful updates for the Ambassador community.
Cristina is a senior at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also a member of DECA, student government, and The Hill (the student-run newspaper), with hobbies ranging from DIY projects to baking.
Reddit Newsletter Support Team Co-Lead
Leading a student-driven initiative that helps turn relevant Reddit conversations and community insights into useful updates for the Ambassador community.
Hardik Arora is a senior in high school from West Virginia who enjoys playing tennis with friends, writing poetry, and volunteering at his local hospital. Hardik aspires to become an orthopedic surgeon specializing in knee and hip replacements. He is passionate about this area because of its impact on improving people’s quality of life.
Game Night Support Team Lead
Bringing Ambassadors together through virtual games and social activities designed to make the online community more interactive and fun.
Priscilla is a high school Junior at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences in Oklahoma. They are active in their Student Government and plan to be the Student Council President. They are starting their own passion project, which will be an inclusive magazine called Mosaic Voices.
They enjoy all forms of art and are currently taking musical theater and digital photography. They are a passionate advocate for LGBTQ rights, Disability rights, and Basic Human Rights. Priscilla wishes to attend Brown University to major in Creative Writing and minor in Philosophy. In their free time, they enjoy writing, reading, playing video games, and watching films.
They wish to be a part of politics, as well as doing something with writing, and being this committee lead is just a step on their way to their future.
Club Leads and Co-Leads plan activities, encourage participation, and help their clubs become spaces where Ambassadors can exchange ideas, collaborate, and meet other students who care about the same topics.
Photography Club President
Leads a creative community where Ambassadors build photography skills, participate in monthly themes and photo prompts, and share their work with fellow students.
Photography Club Vice President
Co-leads Photography Club activities and helps create an inclusive space for students of all skill levels to learn, practice, and showcase their photography.
The Lawyer Dream Club President
Leads a community for students interested in law and legal careers, creating opportunities to explore the field through mock trials, debates, research, and career-focused conversations.
The Lawyer Dream Club Vice President
Co-leads The Lawyer Dream and helps Ambassadors learn about law, explore future career paths, build networking skills, and connect with students who share similar interests.
Sports Club President
Leads a welcoming community for athletes and sports fans to discuss sports, share accomplishments, discover new interests, and connect through activities such as sports trivia and predictions.
Sports Club Vice President
Co-leads Sports Club activities and helps create a fun space where Ambassadors can talk sports, learn from one another, and connect with fellow fans and athletes.
Literary Interpretation Club President
Leads thoughtful discussions that encourage Ambassadors to explore literature, art, ethics, and different perspectives through readings, case studies, and student presentations.
Aerospace Innovation & Exploration Club (AIEC) President
Leads a STEM-focused community exploring aerospace, aviation, emerging technologies, and the future of space through discussions, projects, workshops, and student-led learning.
Aerospace Innovation & Exploration Club (AIEC) Vice President
Co-leads AIEC and helps Ambassadors explore aerospace and engineering through research discussions, current space missions, problem-solving projects, and collaborative activities.
The Ambassador Program continues to grow through the work of each generation of student leaders. We recognize the Ambassadors who previously served in leadership roles and helped build the programs, teams, and traditions our community continues today.
The program’s founding generation played an important role in strengthening student leadership, creating new opportunities for involvement, and establishing many of the structures that continue to evolve today.
The Ambassador Program has also benefited from students who came together to share ideas about how the program could become more engaging, collaborative, and student-led.
In 2025, a group of Ambassadors developed a comprehensive student-led program proposal outlining ideas related to Ambassador leadership, mentorship, communication, student involvement, program organization, and opportunities for Ambassadors to contribute.
The proposal represented a significant early effort by Ambassadors to thoughtfully organize their feedback. We recognize both the students who helped develop the proposal and the Ambassadors who added their names in support of the conversation it started.
Student Proposal Contributors:
Blaise Bowers
Hannah Huff
Kelly Morris
Leah Czyz
Nainika Manthena
Simran Maniar
Supporting Ambassadors:
Angel Chukwu
Abby Murphy
Antonio Pizza
Adaliz Ramirez
Ava Escamilla
Ayesha Alif
Aniyah Morgan
Brandon Still
Brianna Livington
Bryan Acosta
Bella Tian
Chase Podolsky
Charlee Harris
Daniella Spahija
Emma Frick
Enijah Davis
Emily Avalos
Fortune Ogunjimi
Hania Raghib
Hannah Bryant
Jalayah Cummings
Jasmine Davis
Kyra Aguinaga
Kayton Lee
Kristen Jasper
Kylea Evans
London West
Manasvini Eaga
Makylaa Marshall
Maria Rosa Gonzalez
Mehkila Matthews
Mia Ding
Nafisat Agboola
Oscar Tran
Pratyush Kulkarni
Prahaladh Gopalakrishnan
Paula Reyes
Riley Barnes
Rachel Beresford
Rori Schaffer
Sofia Avendano
Sumiaya Bhonhariya
Sydney Clark
The inaugural Ambassador Council was the first group of students to serve at the highest level of Ambassador leadership.
These founding leaders helped establish a stronger student leadership structure, support new Ambassador initiatives, encourage greater student involvement, and create opportunities for Ambassadors to have a more active voice in their community.
Meet the Founding Ambassador Council:
— Oldsmar, FL
Founding President
Nainika helped establish the inaugural Ambassador Council and brought greater structure to student-led programming. She organized and hosted first Ambassador Leadership Meetings and Young Scholars webinars, served as a speaker, and contributed to the student-led proposal that helped spark discussion around the program’s future.
— Oviedo, FL
Founding Vice President
Supported the Ambassador Council throughout its first year and helped expand student-facing programming. Beginning in March 2026, he took on Young Scholars projects and represented the Ambassador Program as a speaker at Leadership Meetings and New Member Meet & Greets.
— Farmville, NC
Founding Vice President
Kelly strengthened the inaugural Council’s organization and accountability by maintaining Leadership Meeting notes and summaries, supporting Council communication.
— Broomfield, CO
Founding Ambassador Advocate
Blaise helped shape the inaugural Council structure and played a leading role in organizing student feedback and proposals for the program’s future. He also build much of the program’s early community and engagement infrastructure, including the Slack Engagement and Senior Mentor structures, new Ambassador onboarding, volunteer-hour tracking, and Coffee Chats.
— Oxford, GA
Founding Outreach Coordinator
Established several of the Ambassador Program’s first outreach-focused student teams, including Social Media Engagement, Content Creation, and Reddit Engagement. Her work created new ways for Ambassadors to contribute through social media, content, and online community engagement.
— Port Richey, FL
Outreach Coordinator, 2026
Expanded the Ambassador Program’s student-led outreach and engagement opportunities by leading Social Media Engagement, Content Creation, and Reddit initiatives. She also developed volunteer-hour tracking for her teams, launched Ambassador Game Nights, and later advanced from team leadership to become the program’s elected 2026–2027 President.
The inaugural Committee Leads helped build the program’s first structured student teams and create more ways for Ambassadors to participate throughout the year.
Through mentoring, community engagement, content creation, Slack activities, and other initiatives, these students helped establish a foundation for the committees and support teams that continue to grow today.
Meet the Founding Committee Leads:
D'Liyah Lubin — Miramar, FL
Founding Senior Mentors Committee Lead
Liyah helped build the Senior Mentors program into an active peer-support network by overseeing #ask-a-senior, new Ambassador onboarding, and Coffee Chat coordination. She helped prepare and host Coffee Chats during the school year and managed the Coffee Chat Support Team.
Zelma Quaynor — Sammamish, WA
Founding Slack Engagement Committee Lead
Zelma helped establish a more active and welcoming Ambassador Slack community by leading Question of the Day activities, monitoring community engagement, supporting mediation when needed, and keeping committee members accountable and involved.
— Port Richey, FL
Founding Content Creation Committee Lead
Adaliz began her Ambassador leadership journey in Content Creation, where her consistent involvement led to greater leadership responsibilities. She progressed from team leadership to Outreach Coordinator and ultimately won the 2026–2027 Ambassador Council President election, demonstrating the leadership pathway available within the program.
— Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Content Creation Committee Lead, 2026
Cali advanced from Content Creation member to Committee Lead and guided a team that produced multiple pieces of student-created content for NSHSS Instagram and TikTok. She also organized team meetings, represented the committee at Leadership Meetings, and helped strengthen authentic student storytelling online.
Hardik Aurora — Huntington, WV
Founding Reddit Engagement Team Lead
Hardik helped develop the Ambassador Program’s approach to Reddit engagement and introduced the idea for a Reddit Newspaper, creating groundwork that later carried into the Social Media & Community Engagement Committee and its student-led newsletter initiative.
— Las Vegas, NV
Founding Social Media Engagement Team Lead
Aiden helped establish the foundation for what later became the Social Media & Community Engagement Committee. His guidance on responsible online engagement was incorporated into Ambassador and committee onboarding materials.
Arianna Perez — Plymouth, MA
Social Media Engagement Team Lead, 2026
Arianna advanced from committee member to Team Lead through consistent participation and leadership. She introduced a volunteer-hours tracker, organized virtual team meetings, contributed to Coffee Chats, and regularly represented student perspectives at Ambassador meetings.
Leadership within the Ambassador Program extends beyond formal titles. Committee members, support team members, club leaders, and other student contributors help turn ideas into action and strengthen the Ambassador community throughout the year.
We recognize the Ambassadors who have contributed their time, creativity, leadership, and service to these student-led initiatives.
Senior Mentors Committee Members:
Shifa Peediakal
Ria Shrivastava
Feliks Rogotskiy
Jiali Regina Wong Sosa
Khloe Littlejohn
Pratyush Kulkarni
Alexis Blanco
Myrte Manzengo
Shritha Repala
Kamarri Hawkins
Emma McGraw
Slack Engagement Committee Members:
Arabella Glass
Sofia Chambers
Isabela Lopez
Tyler Bakey
Zoey Canerday
Ethan Drake
Madeline Shedlock
MaKenzie Thompson
Saleha Malik
Zoyah Khan
Kelsey Dixon
Jordan McGriff
Jarrett Jost
Priscilla Keith
Abigail Labady
Fahed Alsakka
Aaliya K. Simon
Hailey Lindsey
Collin Murphy
Fahed Alsakka
Social Media & Community Engagement Committee Members:
Abby White
Amelia Heydari
Brianna Livingston
Cristina Dos Santos
Mayrin Ocasio
Naomi Diaz
Sienna Gordon
Tyler Hampton
Zariah Runyon
Henry Shelton
Henry Tran
Jamen Tchapda
Shishir Dhanapunen
Shreshta Aithagoni
Kelly Andrade
Aaliya Simon
Hannah Parker
Addyson Mitchel
Abdul-Wadood Ahmed
Destiny Murdock
Kenzie Johnston
Sarah Wais
Sofiya Radlovskaya
Wijdan Mahla
Content Creation Committee Members:
Bria Pete
Celyne Ngela Awasung
Isis Campbell
Jalayah Cummings
Ximena Rodriguez
Dakota Gordon
Deshawn Pink
Gabriella Paviglianiti
Hannah Young
Kenzie Rodriguez
Kira Elizabeth Taylor
Molly Sevak
Patrick Woody
Taylor Hobday
Xavier Cornett
