In a crowded chamber room filled with a patient audience, sophomore Sana Yooseph walks up to the podium as her name is called over the dated sound system. A panel of five stares  back at her as she gathers her notes and argues the need for a crosswalk behind the school. 

While speaking to city council may be a heavy feat for most high school students, Yooseph is no stranger to community involvement.

  Yooseph spends a lot of her time helping the people around her. She serves as one of the initial members of the Oviedo Youth Advisory Council, a group of both Oviedo and Hagerty students who work side by side with local politicians to advocate for the youth of Oviedo. This past spring Yooseph helped organize a talent show where all proceeds went to raise money for a new Boys and Girls Club across the street fro Jackson Heights Middle school.

The connections made with local officials allowed Yooseph to take initiative for the school. When she noticed that students who lived in the neighborhoods behind the school were having to run across traffic because cars were not stopping for them, she wanted to do something about it.

“I was very annoyed, and once I started driving, I realized that drivers should yield for pedestrians, but are only really required to when there is a crosswalk,” Yooseph said.

Yooseph spoke to Mayor Meagan Sladek as well as a few other county officials in hopes to get the plans for a crosswalk approved. They suggested she brought the issue to the city council. When she did, she got no definitive answer on whether one would be placed. 

“I thought I had been shot down, but a few days later I noticed there was a crosswalk,” Yooseph said.“I was so happy and grateful to those who helped.” 

 Her participation does not just end with local politics. An active member in the Programming Club, Mu Alpha Theta and Science Olympiad, Yooseph hopes to help people through math and science as well. On Feb. 15 Yooseph competed in the Science Olympiad competition and placed 2 in protein modeling and 3 in anatomy. She hopes to use these talents to one day be a doctor in the Middle East. 

“I have always had a passion for science and helping people, so being a doctor is an interesting way to combine the two,” Yooseph said.  

Yooseph plans to continue her involvement throughout the community.

“This community has provided me with so many opportunities, it is only fair I give back any way I can,” Yooseph said.