Achieving teens win Inquirer awards

They are Eagle Scouts and soup-kitchen volunteers. They have done international relief work, launched businesses, and won prizes for scientific research.

Lauded yesterday for their civic contributions, the 116 winners of the third annual Inquirer Student Citizenship Award come from public and private high schools around the region but share a common bond: a commitment to good work.

Alexandra Borris, a Moorestown High School senior, was part of a peacekeeping delegation to Bosnia. Traveling with members of her church, she taught children affected by civil war to draw, dance, and sing.

It's an experience she'll never forget, Borris said.

"The children fell in love with us, and we fell in love with them," she said.

Borris has also volunteered at a school for special-needs children in Honduras and taken care of Iditarod sled dogs in Alaska. These days, Borris, who hopes to study education and Spanish at Wagner College on Staten Island, N.Y., juggles a daily babysitting job with volunteer work at an animal shelter and a teen crisis hotline.

"If I want to be happy in life, I have to do things for other people," Borris said. "It's not about getting a job or getting into college. It's about improving people's lives."

That's Robert Ransom Jr.'s philosophy, too. Ransom, who lives in Willingboro and attends the LEAP Academy University Charter School in Camden, volunteers at Dooley House, a home for children with AIDS and the HIV virus.

"I realize how privileged I am," said Ransom, a shooting guard on LEAP's basketball team. "We get everything we want, and some people don't have everything they need."

A self-described "history nerd" who participates in the Model UN, mock trials, and the National Hispanic Institute, he wants to triple-major in history, philosophy, and prelaw at the University of Miami or Brown University.

For George Washington High School's Tylena Murray, one highlight of her day is mentoring at-risk freshmen at her Northeast Philadelphia school.

"They have trouble with grades or trouble with people bothering them," said Murray, who will attend Lock Haven University and study education. "They come to us with personal stuff, stuff that's going on at home, and we help them through it."

Murray also dances in the school musical and runs track and field. She volunteers as an aide in the Variety Camp after-school program for disabled children, and works as a therapy aide at the Pegasus Riding Academy.

Busy? Definitely. But she wouldn't have it any other way.

"If you don't get yourself involved, then you'll end up getting in trouble," Murray said. "The more things you're involved in, the more doors open to you."

Robert Verderame, a senior at Abington High, is a budding entrepreneur. He founded the Verderame Design Firm - a Web design and network consulting company - five years ago, and still finds himself busy despite the tough economy.

"Even in bad times, IT is critical," said Verderame, who's deciding among several colleges, including Drexel University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Cornell University.

Verderame, a member of Future Business Leaders of America, also finds time to give back. He founded the Abington Student Technology Support Team, and volunteers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, programming medical research Web applications.

Add to the winners' list Beairshelle Tity, president of Merion Mercy Academy's service corps and "the heart and conscience of her class," the club's moderators say. And there's Curtis Denlinger of Christopher Dock High School in Lansdale, who videotapes church services for the homebound and rebuilds houses with Habitat for Humanity.

The collection of talent gratified Brian Tierney, publisher of The Inquirer and chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings, which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com. Tierney presented the winners with medals and $100 prizes at a ceremony at the National Constitution Center.

"This speaks to what you want your citizens to be like," Tierney said. "Involved in their community. Caring. We salute you."

Inquirer editor William K. Marimow added: "It's really a pleasure and a privilege for us to honor you today."

Marimow exhorted the students to continue dreaming big, and urged them to value the critical role of freedom of speech and of the press in a democratic society.

"If things work out the way they should in a democracy, excellent ideas will prevail over mediocre ideas," Marimow said.