Wellington High School senior Valentina Ferreira represents Palm Beach County as one of the distinguished finalists by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for exemplary acts of volunteerism.
The awards program, now in its 18th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Ferreira has a GPA of 3.82 and more than 1,000 community service hours. Her volunteer work includes founding Wellington High School’s Love Moves, an organization dedicated to ending human trafficking.
In addition, Ferreira is a member of the National Honor Society and the American Sign Language Honor Society, competes at the national level in DECA and debate, and is a reporter and videographer for the school’s newspaper. Recently, she was the Pathfinder nominee in the Community Involvement category for her work serving her community and church. In her own words, Ferreira hopes to be seen as “a woman after God’s own heart.”
“Students such as Valentina are a source of inspiration to everyone they meet,” Principal Mario Crocetti said. “Valentina is a great role model for students and adults.”
Many of this year’s state honorees and distinguished finalists were recognized for working to combat bullying, raise money for cancer research and make more activities accessible to people with disabilities. Others were honored for mentoring other young people and supporting U.S. veterans and troops.
“Prudential is proud to honor these students for making meaningful contributions to their communities,” Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld said. “We hope that shining a spotlight on their initiative, creativity and compassion inspires others to consider how they, too, can make a difference.”
