Dear Springboard blog,

Hi! My name is Naomi Altman and I am a freshman at Emory University. I was pretty involved in Springboard when I was in high school. In 2020, I was chosen as one of Chicagoland’s 18 Under 18 Honorees. I gained so much from the honor and mentorship that I received so I decided to nominate Josie. While I knew Josie for a long time since we both attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, I only really got to know her this year. I was her Junior Counselor for Diller Teen Fellows and right off the bat noticed that she had a clear passion for Tikkun Olam and natural leadership abilities. As her JC in Diller, I saw her volunteer to take on responsibilities and act as a role model to the other fellows.

I knew that Josie had the drive and passion necessary to receive the honor and follow through with a great impact project which is why I decided to nominate her. Being able to nominate someone was an amazing experience especially after being an honoree myself. Being an 18 Under 18 honoree impacted my life in so many ways so having the opportunity to impact someone else meant so much to me. Throughout the year, I was able to see Josie grow and become even more confident as a leader. Her impact project, where she led donation drives to the Lakeview pantry and the Greater Chicago food depository inspired me a lot and I know that she impacted many people. I am so proud of her and can't wait to see what else she does.

About the Author:

Naomi Altman is a current freshman at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where she plans on studying economics. She was very involved with Springboard and participated in Diller Teen Fellows as a fellow and a Junior Counselor, Research Training Internship (RTI), Springboard Peer Ambassadors, and received the 18 Under 18 award. She also received a Springboard Innovation Grant for her organization:  Messages From the Past: Never Forget