Congratulations to Three FCDS Students for Being in the Top 20 Under 20 Most Influential Iranians in North Carolina

Three FCDS students made the Iranian Cultural Society of North Carolina’s top 20 Most Influential Iranian Youth Under 20 in North Carolina list!

Congratulations to seniors Sarina Horner and Melody Moossavi and junior Julia Kincaid. Sarina and Melody were honored with distinction. All three students were recognized for their contributions in their communities. 

Sarina organized food drives and 5ks to feed food insecure children and was president of the Forsyth Backpack Program Club during her first two years in high school. She also won grants and raised enough to provide more than 15,600 meals. Sarina moved her social equity work to a higher level when she decided to take on City Hall, convincing local leaders to allow passengers to carry more than two grocery bags on Winston-Salem buses. During this time, Sarina also co-founded Forsyth County Young Leaders program to provide mentorship and education to historically excluded high school leaders who deserved the extra help to get their community initiatives to the next level. She won a $15,000 federal grant in collaboration with Wake Forest University and HandsOn NWNC to increase youth volunteerism in North Carolina. Currently, Sarina is leading the student initiative of fighting the Tampon Tax and for menstrual equity in North Carolina. She is the student lobbyist working with the senators and representatives to get this tax law repealed.

 

What’s She’s Learned
“I learned to be more confident in what I believe in and to be willing to get rejected a lot. And I mean A LOT! Many of the causes I’ve fought for could not be easily won, which is why they still existed. I also made a lot of friends and worked with a lot of people I would never have met otherwise. My baba instilled in me the concept of “If not you, who?” This means if you do not make the needed change, who will do it instead?”

 

Access to education and appropriate enrichment materials are abundant in the English language. However, for other languages, like Farsi, these resources are scarce. When Melody learned that her own chemistry teacher, Dr. Sponholtz, was working to close the gap, she was eager to become involved with his mission. By spearheading a team of Farsi translators, she was able to create team that worked to expand access to education. Working with Dr. Sponholtz, she translated, recorded, and edited three hour-long chemistry videos. These videos were published on YouTube to an audience of more than 34,000 and have gained a large number of views. The impact these videos have made is reflected in their success. 

 

“Before, I was a fluent colloquial Farsi speaker, but now I am much well-versed in scientific terms and phrases that have bettered my own language skills. The most memorable part of my work was involving my friends and family in making this project possible. Without them and their aid and willingness to help, I would not have been able to complete this project.”

 

Julia developed a website called Science At Home Kids, which teaches younger children how to perform science projects at home and the scientific principles around those projects. This was developed early in the pandemic when children had less access to in-school science projects. She also volunteered at Kaleideum, a local science museum.

 

“I have always loved science and sharing knowledge with others. The feedback I got from the kids was awesome. I loved that they always wanted to know when the next project was coming, that was probably my favorite part. I would tell other young people that no matter what you think, truly nothing is out of reach and that you really can make an impact.”

 

Congratulations to these outstanding students for making an impact in the world.