Student Spotlight: Lauren Henry

Sarasota Christian School senior Lauren Henry is a little more than a month away from graduation, but she has already exceeded the school’s community service requirement. The 18-year-old, who says that community service is a lifestyle for her, has logged 350 community service hours in the past four years. The school requires 150 hours.

Volunteerism started at an early age for Henry. When she was 10, she raised $500 in donations for impoverished children during Christmastime.

She volunteers each Sunday at Bayside Community Church. She helped pack 60,000 meals with Meals of Hope as a school-wide project. And, in ninth and 10th grade, she edited a summer newsletter at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

March 26 through March 29, Henry attended We Day, an initiative of Free the Children, an international charity and educational partner that encourages youth leadership, which took place in Seattle.

Henry is also president of her class; has a 4.0 GPA; and has been performing ballet on and off since she was 3 years old.

“(Ballet) is a challenge and something I am always working to perfect,” says Henry. “I love that it is a graceful sport and applies arts and athletics.”

Henry has been a student at Sarasota Christian since kindergarten and credits her work ethic to the school.

“Our society today is really me-centered because they have not been exposed to (volunteerism),” she says.