Whiz Kid Double Feature: Andrew Sylvia and Adriana Vitagliano

Name: Andrew Sylvia

School: , Class of 2011

Key to Awesomeness: Andrew is an Ellicott City resident co-founder of the Horizon Club. The community service club organized a Student vs. Faculty basketball game – Hoops for Haiti – and sold 350 tickets, raising $2,600 for the Red Cross Earthquake relief program in Haiti.

In addition to being Horizon Club president, Andrew was an intern with the League of United Latin American Citizens, volunteered at the Arc of Howard County, and is vice president of Best Buddies.

Name: Adriana Vitagliano

School: Altholton High School, Class of 2011

Key to Awesomeness: A Clarksville resident, Adriana is a very busy young woman. She tutors elementary school students; she volunteers as a camp counselor; she works with underprivileged children through Head Start; and she is a member of the committee that organizes the Hispanic Youth Symposium for Howard County.

But wait! Adriana also plays basketball and lacrosse, and she volunteers at the Grassroots Homeless Shelter. There, she helps children in a difficult situation by playing games, making crafts and reading. 

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Because of their commitment to helping the community, Sylvia and Vitagliano were chosen as 2011 Bank of America Student Leaders and are participating in a paid, eight-week summer internship at Teach for America.

“As teens are disproportionately affected by high unemployment rates, our Student Leaders program helps match civic-minded youth with nonprofit organizations in need of extra resources,” Bill Couper, President of Bank of America Midatlantic said in a statement lauding the students’ achievements.

As Student Leaders, Sylvia and Vitagliano joined more than 200 other teenagers in Washington, D.C. for a week-long leadership summit where they participated in a series of workshops on topics including financial education, environmental sustain ability and nonprofit leadership.

Some of the week’s activities included:

• Leadership sessions that identify personal strengths, define personal and professional success, develop future goals and identify opportunities for giving back to the community.
• A service learning volunteer activity with Operation Homefront to learn more about and support the needs of military families.
• Meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss important issues that impact young people such as lack offinancial education in secondary schools and affordable opportunities for a post secondary education.
• A first-hand look at people and moments that have shaped our country’s history through the photographer’s lens of David Kennerly, former White House photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner for his Vietnam photographs.
• A discussion hosted by youth advocate and author of the book The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore, who will explore the importance of youth leadership and young people’s vital role in strengthening society.