Most students spend their summer months absorbing the summer sun and hanging out with friends, but one Urbana High School (UHS) student used her summer to prepare to make a huge impact on her local community.
UHS junior Banan Garada has been an Urbana School District #116 (USD116) student since 2017. As a new student at UHS, Banan was surprised by the amount of diversity and extracurricular activities at her new school. While many may become fearful when thrown into a new environment, Banan embraced the change and saw it as an opportunity to excel.
“It was a pleasure to get exposed to people from various backgrounds with different personalities and stories to share,” said Banan as she reflected on her first few months as a UHS Tiger. “Being a part of a big melting pot with all of these people is a very interesting experience.”
The UHS junior credits her willingness to quickly adapt and embrace a new school culture to her growth mindset. Banan defines a growth mindset as one that pushes her to search for various opportunities that will allow her to grow into a better learner and all-around individual. She says that it is important for her to always identify a path for growth, even when that path may not be clear. This dedication to a growth mindset is what led the UHS student to become involved in several clubs and organizations, which set the stage for opportunities that would allow her to change lives.
During her sophomore year at UHS, Banan’s growth mindset pushed her to apply for a position on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Youth Preparedness Council, a council overseen by The Department of Homeland Security. Banan credits the Illinois Youth Preparedness Initiative for sparking her interest in preparedness, which led her to applying for the FEMA council. “I was so surprised and thankful when I got chosen,” said Banan. “I knew it would be an amazing experience that I could use to help the people in my own community.”
After being selected, Banan traveled to Washington D.C. to collaborate with a select number of students from around the country on emergency, disaster and financial preparedness plans on both the national and local levels. During the summer, Banan was able to attend symposiums where she talked about her ideas and how she, and other students, planned to spread their preparedness plans with children and adults within their local communities. Though her experience with FEMA was fulfilling, her summer did not stop there.
The UHS junior also traveled to Trentino, Italy to participate in the International Summer Interdisciplinary Research Program. The three-week program allowed students to collaborate while creating a machine-learning algorithm aimed at improving detection of cardiovascular disease based on Ultrasound Images. The summer months also provided enough time for her to become involved in the SpHERES-High School Research Program, a STEM program at the Carle Mills Breast Cancer Center focused on research centered around understanding the significance of carbon dots through machine learning.
Through all her summer experiences, Banan knows that she now has the tools to make a great impact on the community of Urbana. “With all this experience, I want to talk about preparedness and raise awareness in my own community,” said the Region 8 FEMA National Youth Preparedness Council Representative. “By raising awareness and telling people about financial, disaster and emergency preparedness, there can be a lot of good change that happens.”
Though Banan has her sights set on a successful career in neuroscience and preparedness, she wants to make a change in her local community today. The UHS junior is eager to use her experiences to collaborate with Urbana community members and organizations through workshops and programming that promote the importance of preparedness and the mission of the FEMA Youth Council: helping people before, during and after disasters.
“There is so much we can do to prepare for many things,” said the UHS student. “I want to use what I know to start change here in Urbana.”