Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB) today announced the 2023-2024 cohort of Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania. The program, administered by KPB, seeks to build community stewards and civic leaders by inspiring, engaging, and empowering young Pennsylvanians to keep their communities beautiful and become ambassadors for a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania.
Students applied to the program and were chosen through a competitive application process, and they have committed to eight months of service as an ambassador while representing and upholding the mission and values of KPB. From October through May 2024, participants will develop civic leadership skills and experience to champion and advocate for clean and beautiful communities across Pennsylvania.
2023-2024 Young Ambassadors of PA:
- Julia Gardone, 12th grade, Highlands High School, Allegheny County
- Sareena Jackson, 11th grade, West Mifflin Area High School, Allegheny County
- Sophia Pietropaolo, 10th grade, Plum Borough High School, Allegheny County
- Emilee Koch, 10th grade, Wilson High School, Berks County
- EzaBella Piccione, 12th grade, Boyertown Area Senior High School, Berks County
- Hetvi Shah, 12th grade, Bensalem High School, Bucks County
- Oluseyi Oduntan, 12th grade, Bensalem High School, Bucks County
- Shreyas Trivedi, 11th grade, Central Bucks High School South, Bucks County
- Aaron Varghese, 12th grade, B. Reed Henderson High School, Chester County
- Macie Burt, 11th grade, Henderson High School, Chester County
- Vedant Bedekar, 12th grade, Henderson High School, Chester County
- Tanisha Agrawal, 12th grade, Conestoga High School, Chester County
- Fadila Nassir, 10th grade, B. Reed Henderson High School, Chester County
- Shriya Chowdavarapu, 11th grade, Owen J. Roberts High School, Chester County
- Riley Lepley, 11th grade, Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School, Cumberland County
- Maya Lin, 11th grade, The Grayson School, Delaware County
- Michelena DeNaples, 11th grade, Scranton Preparatory School, Lackawanna County
- Amelia Depaul, 10th grade, Manheim Township High School, Lancaster County
- Eric Jin, 12th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County
- Shaunak Neogi, 11th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County
- Tushar Mehta, 10th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County
- Yasmell Gonzalez-Perez, 12th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County
- Katie Krieger, 11th grade, Greater Nanticoke Area Senior High School, Luzerne County
- Cy Dixon, 11th grade, Muncy High School, Lycoming County
- Emelia Schwulst, 12th grade, Pottsgrove High School, Montgomery County
- Kaelyn Stek, 11th grade, Villa Maria Academy, Montgomery County
- Kalub Schreiber, 11th grade, Agora Cyber Charter School, Perry County
- Mackenzie Hines, 11th grade, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia County
- Nina Harris-Drumwright, 11th grade, Agora Cyber Charter School, Philadelphia County
- Kathryn Boidock, 11th grade, Bentworth Senior High School, Washington County
- David Muchoney, 10th grade, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Westmoreland County
- Michael Harris, 11th grade, Penn-Trafford High School, Westmoreland County
- Scarlett Vesely, 11th grade, Norwin Senior High School, Westmoreland County
KPB will provide education and training to program participants on such topics related to the impacts of litter, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management and social media marketing. The program will provide networking opportunities to not only build a sense of community within the program but also to promote the professional development of the individual students.
For more information about the program and the Young Ambassadors, visit the program page or contact Kylie McCutcheon at kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org.
The Young Ambassador program was recommended in the commonwealth's litter action plan, announced as part of the Litter Action Plan, announced by the Wolf administration in 2021 in response to a 2019 Pennsylvania Litter Research Study which found Pennsylvania has more than 500 million pieces of litter on its roadways. The action plan includes strategies for all Pennsylvanians to fight litter in their communities.
PennDOT provides many additional litter cleanup volunteer opportunities, including Adopt-A-Highway, Litter Brigades, and more at their roadside beautification web page.
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CONTACT: Zachary Appleby, 717-783-8800 or zappleby@pa.gov
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