Whitman is known for its rigorous academics, but students don’t just excel in the classroom — they also strive to make a difference in their community. Many teenagers channel energy into passion projects, starting clubs or nonprofits that can leave a lasting impact. This year, various organizations recognized three Whitman students for their efforts to effect change in the community. 

Aarna Gundeti

Junior Aarna Gundeti co-founded the nonprofit Helping Hands for Humanity with her family in 2023. The organization seeks to combat poverty by advancing education, a cause deeply personal to Gundeti. Her parents grew up facing poverty in India before immigrating to the U.S. Approximately 33% of students in MCPS face poverty, and Gundeti said that education is crucial in standing up to it. 

“My parents had to struggle a lot,” Gundeti said. “I want to give back to others because I know my parents wouldn’t be where they are without school.”

One branch of her nonprofit, the Nutrition Powers Education initiative, provides food to students in need, ensuring hunger doesn’t interfere with learning. Through this initiative, Gundeti delivered over 15,000 pounds of food to underprivileged students at Meadow Hall Elementary School during the 2024-2025 school year. This year, she aims to donate around 25,000 pounds. 

Gundeti said she values education but understands it’s a luxury not everyone can afford. 

“I’ve been shown that to be educated is to be privileged,” Gundeti said. “I want everyone to have that opportunity.”

This past year brought Gundeti significant recognition for her work. In June, the Montgomery Serves Award named her Youth Volunteer of the Year, and the Montgomery County-produced show “Make a Difference” featured her in a segment.

Florence Jewell, the host of “Make A Difference,” explained why the county selected Gundeti.

“Each year, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center accepts nominations for volunteers and a panel of judges selects winners in various categories,” Jewell said. “Aarna Gundeti, nominated by Lara France, was honored for her exceptional dedication to service and the significant impact she has made in our community.”

Gundeti said it hasn’t been easy to balance schoolwork with her nonprofit. However, she finds it fulfilling to see her team of middle and high school volunteers truly care about their mission. 

“Even more than the award, it’s our community,” Gundeti said. “It’s very rewarding to see people actually committed to something that could make a difference.”

Suhani Verma

Junior Suhani Verma founded the nonprofit Rallying Together to apply her love for tennis to a meaningful cause. Verma, along with a team of volunteer high school student coaches, provides tennis lessons to kids in Bethesda. She then donates all of the proceeds to the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) and the United States Tennis Association foundations. So far, Verma and her team have raised $3,000. Through the UTR Scholars and Scores foundation, she contributed $1,000 to Glen Burnie High School’s tennis team in Maryland and the foundation recognized her for her efforts.  

Matthew Bugenhagen, an assistant tennis coach at Glen Burnie High School, said the money enabled the tennis team to be more accessible for all students. 

“It has quintupled the funds we have in our account,” Bugenhagen said. “I am planning to use the money to buy ball carts, which will make it easier to have more kids on the team and have practices run more efficiently.” 

The process to become a nonprofit organization was extensive, Verma said. She had to pay $700 and wait multiple months before Rallying Together could receive its tax-exempt status. 

Verma said not everyone has an equal opportunity to play tennis, which motivates her to continue devoting time to her nonprofit. 

“Programs are so expensive and tennis is only filtered to a certain group,” Verma said. “With our services, we are giving that opportunity to hundreds and thousands of kids in America to play tennis and find the same love for tennis we all have as coaches.” 

Zoey Rees

Junior Zoey Rees spends her off-site Whitman internship at the National Center for Children and Families’ (NCCF) Greentree Shelter in Bethesda. She began volunteering in middle school, working along with her family to renovate the children’s playroom. This sparked her interest in social services, leading her to choose the shelter for her internship period. In conjunction with her Girl Scouts Gold Award, the highest achievement for a Girl Scout, for which they must work on an issue in the community, Rees recently independently renovated the teen room at the shelter. 

NCCF Volunteer Coordinator William Whitlow said that Rees is an integral part of the Greentree Shelter team. 

“Zoey is consistently welcoming, positive and hardworking—whether she is helping youth with their homework, playing games that bring laughter and smiles or taking the initiative to renovate the entire teen room in the shelter,” Whitlow said. “Her impact on the children and families we serve is truly immeasurable and we are incredibly grateful to have her as part of our community.”

Rees dedicates five hours a week to volunteering at the shelter, and even more to the Teen Room. The Greentree Shelter serves 115 children and families experiencing homelessness and is part of the NCCF, which also provides foster care and adoption services, residences for males who experienced abuse and neglect and educational programs in the Washington, D.C. and Maryland areas. 

For Rees, spending time on this meaningful cause is completely worth it.

“I’ve lived a pretty privileged and comfortable life,” Rees said. “Seeing that other people have it much harder than I do, I wanted to do my part.”

She mostly works with younger children, playing with them and helping them with their homework. Rees said that engaging with the kids helps them develop reading and social skills. However, one barrier is the lack of volunteers, making it difficult to offer each child the support they need, she said. 

“I’m the only volunteer there often, so I know that I can’t be helping the kids as much as they need,” Rees said.

To receive her Gold Award, Rees spent over 80 hours planning, fundraising and building to renovate the Teen Room. She raised $2,800 to kickstart her project, then completed paperwork and sent emails to ensure her plan would come to life.

Rees said that although the process was painstaking, she learned a lot of logistical and planning skills that she hopes to apply in the future. 

“It did give me a good amount of life skills,” Rees said. “It also made me realize that I want to get into things like social work or other topics that are in touch with homelessness, like subsidized housing and housing solutions for people.”

In high school, when schedules are already jam-packed and time is low, it’s difficult for students to take extra time to do good in the community. However, when they’re able, it’s a gratifying experience. Whether it’s the students at Meadow Hall Elementary School, the tennis players at Glen Burnie High School or the families at the Greentree shelter, these volunteers’ actions have changed lives in some way.