Global disasters inspire Diana Kaur Thiara to think way beyond the demands of her advanced calculus lessons and student council responsibilities.
After Hurricane Katrina last year, the Rochelle High School student leader organized a T-shirt sale that raised $3,000 for the American Red Cross. When the devastating tsunami struck in 2004, Thiara was so alarmed by news of deadly water sanitation problems in Southeast Asia that she created a research group aimed at studying the issue in impoverished nations. “I’m drawn to community service work,” Thiara said. “As an American, I have so many opportunities at my fingertips. I have been to India, and I’ve seen the poverty.”
A straight-A student who scored 34 out of 36 on her ACT, Thiara ranks first in her class of 279 and devotes herself to leadership activities around the school. She is class president of her Ogle County school and has served on the student council for four years. To raise awareness about world diversity at the rural school, she founded the International Club.
One of the club’s first accomplishments still stands right outside the school–a “Peace Pole” monument that has the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 12 languages. The group raised $3,000 for the project.
“I really enjoy getting things done for our school, ” she said. “In student council, we get to work with all the different clubs and groups. We get to do a lot to represent what the students want … when they have problems, they come to us.”
Thiara, 18, is still trying to decide between two private colleges–Washington University in St. Louis and Union College in New York state. Her career goal is to raise funds for disease research in underdeveloped nations.
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tdell’angela@tribune.com
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