Author:	Sara Lindquist
	Grade:	Junior
	School:	Mercer Island Islanders
	Mascot:	Islanders
	League:	Kingco
	Classification:	3A

Hey everybody! My name is Sara Lindquist and I am currently a junior at Mercer Island High School.  Sports have always been a really important part of my life.  But as I’ve grown up and learned more about myself, I have discovered how much I cherish my education and serving my community.  In honor of this, I organized and founded a girls science club at my high school with three of my close friends; Arianna, Caroline and Riley. The club is called PETRI (Philanthropy, Education, Teaching, Research and Involvement) and it was started to encourage interest in science at MIHS.  Each girl in the club shares a passion for athletics and a love of science.  We are also committed to philanthropy and have been eager to provide service to others.

During the first year of PETRI, we focused our efforts on bringing guest speakers/scientists to the high school to talk about their work in the science field.  We were hoping to help students understand the relevance of the science classes we are taking in school and inspire them to look into the possibilities that the field of science can offer in our world today. We had a wide range of speakers present during lunches at our school. Some of these speakers included a physiatrist who specializes in sleep and the teenage brain, a scientist who spoke to us about global warming, and a doctor who is researching a cure for malaria in Kenya.

Our club has really enjoyed its focus on bringing presentations to our school, but this past year, we focused our efforts on a philanthropy project.  We partnered with a non-profit organization called SEAVURIA.  SEAVURIA unites students and teachers in rural Kenya with Seattle area students and teachers to study issues of global importance. Many of the young women in Africa, however, cannot afford to go to school, so SEAVURIA works to provide scholarships to girls who are in need.

When PETRI learned more about SEAVURIA and its efforts, we decided that we wanted to help.  We hosted a gathering of friends and family and raised about $6000, which is enough money to financially support the education of ten girls in Kenya.  Our efforts will help these young women achieve an education so they can become doctors, lawyers, teachers, or anything they aspire to be.   Our club was eager to help, because just like Kenyan girls, we have dreams for our future and believe an education will provide opportunities to achieve those dreams.  We are passionate about helping girls in Kenya because they deserve all of the same rights to schooling as we do.  They are teenage girls just like us, and with an education, they will be given the opportunity to succeed and make a difference in our world.