Anna Haines, a Reynoldsburg High School senior, is one of only two central Ohio students to be awarded a Global Scholars scholarship when she graduated from the Global Scholars program last month.
The scholarship is given by the Columbus Council on World Affairs, which delivers an experiential approach to global education via the Global Scholarship Diploma program. Throughout the three-year program, high school students from districts around the region communicate and collaborate face-to-face with global community partners, businesses, civic leaders, and people of varying cultural backgrounds.
Nearly 200 students presented their capstone project, a requirement in order to graduate from the program, at the organization’s Take Action Project Fair in April. Students tackled issues such as mental health, climate change and poverty with the goal of improving their communities and demonstrating their proficiency as global citizens.
Haines’ project focused on pollution of styrofoam and its effects on the world. She selected the topic based on the prevalence of styrofoam in our daily lives, particularly in her home high school, where students were disposing of approximately 95,000 styrofoam lunch trays each year. She identified a reusable tray to replace the disposable trays, developed a cost analysis and white papers before presenting the information to the food services director of Reynoldsburg Schools.
She is attending Ohio Wesleyan University in the fall, where she plans to study finance economics.