With a magnetic personality and contagious smile, Arya Dika is a non-stop ball of energy who leads by example. So far, Arya, who richly deserves his Honorable Mention in the April Student of the Month competition, has volunteered 184 hours and given 25 cultural presentations, with no signs of stopping.

Arya adores volunteering at the local Boys and Girls Club. His supervisor observes that the children love him, and he lights up the room as he leads craft sessions, plays games, and serves their afternoon snack. Arya helped plan a big holiday party where the children made gingerbread houses, sang carols, and received presents. In addition, Arya mentors children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters afterschool program by helping with homework and reading with them. Arya also led a cabin for 15 boys during their week at Camp Green Meadows.

Every Wednesday, Arya helps to feed the underserved at the local church. This activity has shown him how one meal can change a life, so he dedicated his Global Youth Service Day project to help the church with their mission. Through a school coin fundraising project and family game nights, Arya and his FLEX exchange brother, Oguzhan, raised $1090 to repair the church kitchen equipment so it can continue its work long after he’s returned home. Their effort was recognized as a top 10 project in the World Link #GYSD2019 Competition.

Arya was immediately a standout at his school, earning him a homecoming king nomination. He became a local celebrity when the community newspaper highlighted the #IEW2018 “Indonesian Food Cooking Contest” he organized for his peers. He maintains good grades while being highly involved in both on and off campus activities including Key Club, Interact, Choir, Improv, and Leos.  He recently won second place in the speech contest “Be the Inspiration” with the Rotary Club.

Arya truly stands out in his commitment to go above and beyond in any task that is set before him.

Congratulations, Arya!

Source: https://www.yesprograms.org/stories/april-students-of-the-month-1