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Date: 2/1/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Nafisah Alao is a quiet, soft-spoken teenager with a desire to help others.
“Not everyone gets the opportunities we have, so it’s important to learn about helping others when we’re younger so we can appreciate what we have as we get older,” said the 15-year-old middle school student.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the West Springfield Middle School student engaged with hundreds of other eighth graders from around the state at the kickoff for Project 351 in Boston. Alao is part of this year’s class of “unsung heroes” who will engage in a year of community service for the statewide organization.
Melissa Royer, a counselor at the middle school, said Alao was selected as the “ambassador” to Project 351 because of her intelligence, grace and passion to help others.
“Project 351 students lead with kindness, compassion, humility and gratitude. Nafisah is a student who exemplifies those qualities and many more,” Royer said.
Alao was excited but surprised to be chosen to represent her school and community.
“I was very excited to learn about this honor,” she said. “I also was a bit surprised, because I know a few students who also have worked really hard. But I’m proud that my hard work paid off.”
Royer explained that she starts thinking which students would make a good ambassador when they are in sixth and seventh grades.
“When I’m with them, I’m thinking about who is a good representation of what this program is going to entail — who is a hard worker and committed to helping others,” she explained.
“Nafisah is just so gracious and grateful,” she added. “This is going to have an impact on her life. She will be bringing back service projects that will help others here. It’s such a special opportunity for her.”
Alao is no stranger to helping people. She and her family have volunteered their time and donated items to a community center close to her home. The center assists refugees relocating to West Springfield.
“My sister and I donated clothes and our mother made food for the refugees,” she said.
Additionally, Alao wants to be a member of the National Junior Honor Society in the spring. To meet one of the requirements for joining. she has been volunteering in her community, including at a soup kitchen where she and her mother help to make food.
She also volunteered at the town library to help set up the supplies and materials needed for some younger kids in a science club.
“It was very nice. And they were also very polite,” she said. “They thanked me afterwards, which kind of surprised me. I don’t always see kids being so polite like that.”
Alao credits her parents for helping to inspire her interest in community service: “They’ve always taught us to be polite and to help people who need help.”
The teen said her parents were “very excited and very proud” of her accomplishment of becoming a Project 351 ambassador.
“They weren’t too surprised — they know I’m a hardworking person. They hoped something like Project 351 would happen for me.”
In her role as a Project 351 ambassador, Alao will participate in three statewide service campaigns throughout the year, including a spring clothing drive, a 9/11 tribute and a fall activity to help end hunger.
“Nafisah’s takeaway from this experience will not only benefit her, but also will be carried into her deliverance of the service projects for the community. She will lead with all her heart,” said Royer.
Alao said there are many issues she would like to get involved in to make the world a better place. One is helping the homeless.
“It’s important when it gets very cold during the winter to have good shelters to help them stay out of the cold,” she said.
Science is one of her favorite subjects, so she wants to use her science skills and her interest in the environment to help to deal with the climate crisis.
“Climate change is really making an impact on our environment. And since I really love science, it’s something I’d love to do because it also will be something that will help other people at the same time,” said Alao.
Royer said only one student each year gets the unique opportunity of joining Project 351.
“I try to pick students who will get the most out of this experience,” she said. “It will be a very inspiring, and an incredible experience for Nafisah.”
One of the things Alao is looking forward to in Project 351 is making new friends and meeting new people. One person she would especially like to meet is the governor.
“That would be very exciting. I’ve met the mayor of our town quite a few times, so it would be nice to meet the new governor of our state.”