When Ashley Bellinger was in the fifth grade, she was bullied, her classmates taunting her skin color and hairstyle.

She turned to pencils, paint and a blank canvas to tell her story, winning an award in middle school for her African-American art. And at age 14, she started her own fashion business, Amber Ash, to promote the image of minority women.

Now she is a role model for young women as a teen mentor/recruiter with the nonprofit START, which hosts an after-school program for middle and high school students in her West Coconut Grove neighborhood. Her designs and artwork have won multiple awards. She is a Women of Tomorrow and Coconut Grove Negro Women’s Club Ladies of Legacy mentee, and a member of the Coral Gables Fashion Club.

Honorable Mentions: Jeanette Szomstein, Ransom Everglades School; Ashley Castano, Westminster Christian School; Ivanna Rodriguez, Mater Academy

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Justin Bentayou has combined his love of business and football to benefit many.

He has applied his accounting skills to help the Boca Braves Pop Warner Football and Cheer League maintain a steady income by running its concession stand. As the manager, he chooses the products for sale and looks for the best wholesale prices to ensure the stand grosses at least $500 at every home football game. His efforts helped raise funds for field permits, referees, new jerseys and merchandise.

Justin also volunteers with his football teammates at the Broward Outreach Center, where he serves food to the homeless community and plays football with the children. He volunteers as a Teacher Assistant at Sandpiper Shores Elementary School. And he was a top 10 finalist in DECA’s international competition.

Honorable Mentions: Cyanne John McClean, Charles W. Flanagan High School; Robert Joseph Tromberg, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; Yash Daftary, American Heritage

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Courtney Butterworth has learned at a young age the power of writing and the law.

She is one of the youngest volunteers at Legal Aid Service of Broward County, which provides free legal services for low-income individuals. She has conducted intake interviews, scheduled appointments, typed case notes, updated court dockets and trained new interns and volunteers.

She became concerned when she noticed many calls were from people experiencing homelessness. That’s when she turned to her first passion, writing, to raise awareness. As a teen columnist with the Hollywood Gazette, she wrote a series of articles about homelessness, interviewing dozens of people to tell their stories. In addition, she interviewed each mayoral candidate about their plan to address the issue, making the issue a part of the campaign.

Honorable Mentions: Lillian Rose Skopp, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; Daniel Christian Agosto, Monarch High School; Elysa Goldberg, American Heritage

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For as long as he can remember, Jose Cardelle has spent many nights with his grandparents, improving his Spanish and learning about his Cuban heritage.

That experience and his exposure to StoryCorps inspired him to create Voices of the Past, an organization that pairs bilingual high school students with elderly residents of an assisted living facility.

He partnered with the Sunrise Community Adult Day Health Center, where student volunteers conduct interviews in Spanish to capture the individual’s life story, which are then recorded through StoryCorps, an online database housed in the Library of Congress.

Honorable Mentions: Helen Morejon, Hialeah Gardens Senior High; Johanna Mouyal, Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School; Yessica Paxtor, South Dade Senior High

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Christina Dulal is spreading the word about science and engineering.

She teaches sophomores at her school about the sciences and engineering using college-style lectures, projects and self-designed technology through the Miramar High School CFES: College for Every Student program.

In addition, Christina helped analyze, design and code Android apps to improve the visitor experience at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale. She is a regional ambassador for the national Girl Rising organization, which raises funds for girls in developing countries who do not have access to a primary-school education.

Honorable Mentions: Sarah Branse, University School of Nova Southeastern University; Ryan Sandler, North Broward Preparatory School; Suganth Kannan, American Heritage

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From a young age, what others saw as useless, outdated pieces of hardware, Megan Erdozain saw as treasures she could use to make something new.

That passion to create and her fascination with the medical world led her to create a prosthetic hand, which won third place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Megan founded her school’s Science Fair Club and volunteers at Air Base K-8 as a guest speaker, mentor and science fair judge.

She won first place in Engineering Mechanics at the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida last year and first place at the Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) Science Fair in 2015.

Honorable Mentions: Maya Levy, Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School; Patricia Fuentes, Hialeah Gardens Senior High; Annie Farrell, Coral Gables Senior High School

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Marco Fernandez is part of the growing maker movement to solve problems through invention and collaboration.

His proposal won the top prize in the Miami Herald’s 2016 Business Plan Challenge in the high school track for Digifeet, which uses 3D scanned images of a person’s feet to fabricate custom, 3D-printed orthotics. Digifeet is currently developing prototypes.

At school, he created the Moonshot Makers, a club to help fellow students dream up, design and develop their ideas. He plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in business entrepreneurship.

Honorable Mentions: Thomas Falcon, Christopher Columbus High School; Kaina Lisibach, John A. Ferguson Senior High School; Jonathan Roth, Miami Palmetto Senior High School

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When she was growing up, her father made sure she cleaned out her closet three times a year to donate clothing and toys to children in Colombia.

She carried that spirit with her to MAST Academy, where she partnered with the nonprofit Sun.Risas, which works with underprivileged children. Gabriella Garcia organized drives for four major service projects, ranging from holiday celebrations at Miami’s Chapman Partnership, to collecting socks and shoes for orphans in Venezuela, underwear for children in Nicaragua and school supplies for children in Bimini.

She also is her school’s National Honor Society president, and the first female president of Mecha Makos, the school’s engineering and robotics club.

Honorable Mentions: Kelsy Ruano, Barbara Goleman Senior High; Sally Lu, Mater Academy; Nicole Nader, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy

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Kay-Ann Henry realized too many students in her high school and in her native Jamaica did not have the literacy levels to succeed in today’s world.

She started It’s LIT to raise awareness of the issue, organizing book drives, tutoring sessions and workshops about college, and working with literacy coaches at her school. She started a blog, Humans of Carol City, to spread the word and highlight success stories among students and teachers.

After attending a program at Princeton University, she started a club to help other students get informed about college, holding weekly meetings to help students with the college admissions process. She also serves on the Miami Gardens Junior Council.

Honorable Mentions: Arianna Medina, TERRA Environmental Research Institute; Danyel De Villiers, Christopher Columbus High School; Alexia Borges, School for Advanced Studies/MDC Wolfson Campus

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It took one trip to a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan for Zara Joykutty to do something.

In 2012, she visited Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, where hundreds of Syrian families lived in tents in the middle of a desert. She had gone to Jordan to visit her father, who had moved there to work as an engineer on a federal water project. On her first trip, one of her father’s co-workers took her to the camp, where she met many children.

She decided to hold a summer camp for the children and partnered with an organization she met through the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan’s capital. She returned home and set up a henna tattoo booth at her school’s spring festival, raising more than $5,000 over the next few years. She has returned to Jordan each summer to run the camp, teaching the children arts and crafts, music, dance and games such as musical chairs.

Honorable Mentions: Yash Moondhra, North Broward Preparatory School; Rachel Lauren Marks, Charles W. Flanagan High School; Alfonso Q. Gibson, Plantation High School

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Kaelen Krumich is turning his dream for a sustainable Miami into a reality through the White Roof Initiative, a nonprofit he started last year to paint dark roofs white using a silicone-based paint, which reflects light and helps conserve energy.

Building owners pay half of the project’s estimated cost and the White Roof Initiative covers the rest, including providing volunteers to do the painting.

Kaelen also helps run the CCHS Investors Club at school, which teaches other students the basics of investing and personal finance.

Honorable Mentions: Victoria Alonso, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy; Michael Eschmann, Palmer Trinity School; Savannah Hodges, Miami Palmetto Senior High School

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On a trip back to his native Cuba, Anderson Leal hungered to bring the joy of performing to Cuban children.

He created Unlimited Art, which provides training in the fields of art, dance, drama and music to Cuban students through workshops, performances and costume drives, working with volunteers in Cuba.

Anderson is also a District 8 Florida Thespian Society board representative. He assists in behind-the-scenes capacities during school performances, including director, producer, stage manager, lighting designer, prop master and sound designer.

Honorable Mentions: Jessica Lamour, School for Advanced Studies/MDC North Campus; Bianca Hernandez, St. Brendan High School; Erica Brenner, Westminster Christian School

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Joel Eitan Linkewer turned his love for art into a unique resource for the art community.

He created Tide: Miami when he was 15 to highlight contemporary and urban arts in South Florida, while introducing local artists to national and international audiences. As the project’s director, he conducts interviews, writes and edit stories, takes photos and videos and curates all the content for tidemiami.com. He also manages the website’s social media.

He helps the artists curate their work and writes their biographies. In one instance, he wrote about artist Autumn Casey, whose work is now included in the Pérez Art Museum Miami. He has served as vice president and treasurer of his school’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society and was awarded his school’s Pinnacle Art award three years in a row.

Honorable Mentions: Gabriella Loretta Campos, Coral Glades High School; Brady McGettigan, North Broward Preparatory School; Amanda Black, Charles W. Flanagan High School

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Alessandra Maggioni’s dream of becoming a professional tennis player was shattered when she had to undergo spinal fusion surgery at age 14 to correct her scoliosis.

Once she recovered, she returned to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital as an ambassador, sharing her story at hospital events and lending support to spinal injury patients and their families.

She has also created a device, with a patent pending, to help patients during their recovery, which landed her a spot in the 2015 TED talk. Her work as a patient advocate extends globally to Brazil, Germany, Italy, Russia and Venezuela. She is the recipient of two Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.

Honorable Mentions: Benjamin Burstein, Miami Beach Senior High School; Kevin Simauchi, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School; Alyson Diaz, School for Advanced Studies/MDC Kendall Campus

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When Anthony Martinez visited a foster care home two years ago, he noticed they didn’t have a proper computer lab.

So the computer wiz decided to build one for them. He secured funds from local businesses to buy new computers, which he installed with help from his Boy Scout troop. Nearly two years later, the lab is running smoothly.

In addition, Anthony prepares low-cost laptops for students in Cuba, complete with essential programs and written instructions in Spanish. He co-founded the Coding Club, which teaches other teens hands-on programming.

Honorable Mentions: Elspeth Kurzban, South Miami Senior High School; Leehie Bortman, Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School; Jordan Gottlieb, Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School

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Sophia Lisa Meloro wants to eradicate the sea’s invasive species.

She has launched Liquidate Lionfish, an initiative to educate others about lionfish and their damaging effects on the Atlantic Ocean’s biodiversity and coral reefs. Sophia began by setting up lionfish booths at Biscayne National Park and speaking with more than 500 visitors over the next two years about the invasive species. She has since presented at two major events — the National Marine Educators Association Youth Conference and the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit.

Sophia was featured in a BBC report on the U.S. National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary. She received the Girl Scout Gold Award for her lionfish project. As a member of her school’s marine biology club, she helped researchers at NSU gather information on shark species off Florida.

Honorable Mentions: Matthew Edward Dardet, Pine Crest School; Jacob Blum, North Broward Preparatory School; Keyla Marie Correia, South Broward High

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Camille Molas wants to change the perception that people with disabilities must settle for less.

She has watched her students thrive as the founder and teacher of Dancing Beyond, a weekly dance program that offers dance classes for developmentally disabled children with help from the Children’s Rehab Network. The curriculum combines music, dance and creative movements.

Camille also tutors the students in math, social studies and science. In addition, Camille launched Able Bodies, an initiative to incorporate the arts into the lives of people with disabilities.

Honorable Mentions: Bjorn Williams, Miami Carol City Senior High School; Delanie Ludmir, Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School; Julia Lee, School for Advanced Studies/MDC Kendall Campus

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Benjamin Morales raised $20,000 to build an elementary school in the remote village of El Salitrillo, Guatemala.

Working with the nonprofit Miracles in Action, he dedicated nearly two years to the project, from creating a video and dedicated donation website to visiting local elementary schools to garner support and selling Guatemalan handmade jewelry to raise funds. He even flew to the village to help build the school, which now has more than 50 students.

Last year, Benjamin passed the certification exam to become a vet tech assistant through the Vet Assist program at his school. His next project is to open and maintain an animal shelter in Sumpango, Guatemala.

Honorable Mentions: Kaitlyn Arlotta, American Heritage; Nicolas Chang, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Joshua Erik Garber, Coral Glades High School

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Camille Pierre-Louis learned firsthand what a difference one person can make.

She started an after-school volunteer tutoring program at Nova Blanche Foreman and Nova Eisenhower elementary schools in Davie to encourage academic excellence in her community. She pitched the idea to her school’s National Honor Society Board and recruited volunteers through a Facebook page she created.

Camille was inspired by working with one girl with attention-deficit issues, whom she watched flourish as they worked together on her assignments. Her project provided 40 tutors, who also served as positive role models for the students. Last year, Camille was the recipient of her school’s English Department award and in 2015 placed third for Ekphrastic Poetry at the Broward Literary Fair.

Honorable Mentions: Carmen Sierra Horn, North Broward Preparatory School; Rabia Zubair, J.P. Taravella High School; Elizabeth Shin, American Heritage

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Alanna Skye Quiton is a chairman of the Scaring for Caring haunted house project created by classmate Christopher Rodriguez.

She is responsible for designing and constructing her room in the haunted house, and for the overall marketing of the event. Last year, they expanded the project to include a block party on Halloween and a Dance-A-Thon at Hard Rock Stadium. The project is personal for her — she has lost both of her grandmothers to cancer, as well as an uncle and close family friend.

Alanna has also received superior and excellent ratings for her performance of the song “Beautiful” from the hit musical Beautiful; the song “High Enough” from Rock of Ages; “How Lovely to be a Woman from Bye Bye Birdie; and “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from Annie.

Honorable Mentions: Chad Rodriguez, Plantation High School; Andrew Singer, University School of Nova Southeastern University; Christopher Panella, Fort Lauderdale High School

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Simran Rajani wanted to give back to her native Tanzania in East Africa.

She joined The Dar Project, a nonprofit dedicated to providing educational resources for orphans in Tanzania, and rose to become its director of operations in Florida. She raised money through YouTube ads, door-to-door fundraising and set up donation boxes at dentist’s and doctor’s offices to collect clothing and supplies for children at the Chamazi Orphanage in Dar es Salaam. In total, she raised $5,000, which covers the costs of education for eight orphans.

Simran also volunteers as an assistant teacher at the South Florida Hindu Temple in Southwest Ranches, where she teaches children how to speak Hindi.

Honorable Mentions: Shreeya Singh, Pembroke Pines Charter High School; Kevin Hautigan, Fort Lauderdale High School; Snow Kang, American Heritage

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Jake Renko wanted to be part of a student organization that makes a tangible difference in the world.

With support from the Rotary Club of Coconut Creek, he co-founded the North Broward Interact Club, which provides volunteers and raises money for various projects, such as the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Shave-a-Thon to support childhood cancer research; Bicycles for Humanity to benefit rural villages in Africa; In Jacob’s Shoes to provide sneakers for local children in need; and highway and beach cleanups. Interact Club members also participate and help fundraise for Rotary Club events.

Jake is the recipient of a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal scholarship that awards up to $100,000 for college to high-achieving math and science students.

Honorable Mentions: Salma Bennis, Fort Lauderdale High School; Jackson Blitz, American Heritage; Jared Geller, Pine Crest School

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Delaney Reynolds’ mission is to educate people about global warming and its impact on South Florida.

She founded the Sink or Swim Project, a nonprofit that educates students and adults about rising sea levels and climate change, including creating a website, www.miamisearise.com.

She is working with South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard to pass a law that would require new and substantially renovated construction to install the maximum solar power. Her TEDx Talk in 2016 was attended by nearly 3,000 people and viewed by 20,000 watching the live stream.

Honorable Mentions: Kevin Acks, Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School; Helen Cheng, John A. Ferguson Senior High School; Sterling Alic, iPreparatory Academy

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When Christopher Rodriguez learned his grandfather had cancer, he decided fear was not going to overpower him.

Instead, fear inspired him and his childhood friend, Mary Elizabeth Allen, to create a haunted house in Miami Shores — the “Insane Asylum Haunted House” — to raise money for cancer research. In 2014, their first Halloween, they raised $1,300. With support from the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, the following year, they raised $61,000 for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. In 2016, the group raised more than $125,000 through the haunted house and a new event: a Dance-A-Thon at Hard Rock Stadium.

The project, dubbed “Scaring for Caring,” has developed Christopher’s business, communication and leadership skills, which will help him in his goal to become a film director. His work has been recognized at the New York Screenplay and Short Film Festival, the Fort Lauderdale Student Film Festival, the Orlando Student Film Festival, and the Vancouver Miniature Film Festival.

Honorable Mentions: Nelson Albert James, Broward Virtual School; Jordan A. Botknecht, Fort Lauderdale High School; Madison Silver, North Broward Preparatory School

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Sofia Rodriguez is a competitive swimmer with a passion for community service.

In 2013, she co-founded Smiling Tummies, a nonprofit with the goal of ending hunger in South Florida. She helps coordinate monthly food drives, food distribution events and fundraisers. Smiling Tummies, a recognized nonprofit with the IRS, collected 800 pounds of canned goods to benefit Feeding South Florida and distributed food to more than 600 families in Homestead.

Sofia served as student government president her senior year and is a member of the Atlantis Swimming Club and of the TERRA Swim Club, which last year won the highest GPA award in the county. In her junior year, the team won the Greater Miami Athletic Conference title and she qualified for the 400-freestyle relay at the state championship.

Honorable Mentions: Madison Chamizo, Southwest Miami Senior High School; Eduardo Llano, Christopher Columbus High School; Mary Elizabeth Allen, Miami Country Day

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Most people visit Bimini to have fun. Not David Sanchez.

He and his brothers noticed the poverty on the island and co-founded Get Smart Bimini Service Organization, which has sent more than 800 backpacks filled with school supplies to children in Bimini.

Last year, the Bimini Police awarded him with the International Friendship Award. David also has volunteered with the Down Syndrome Association of Miami and the Dare to Care soccer tournament at his school for special needs children. He is a member of the Student Government Association and has participated in Miracle League of Miami events that pair baseball players and children with special needs.

Honorable Mentions: Jovier Jimenez, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School; Dayme Delgado, Mater Academy; Kaylee de Soto, Miami Palmetto Senior High School

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Nicole Taggart’s project began with a photograph of an impoverished school in Colombia.

With her mother’s help, she contacted a teacher at the Institución Educativa Los Andes and partnered with The Healing Hands of Colombia organization to raise money for learning materials, including TVs, computers, tablets, projectors and a video camera. She’s planning a trip to Colombia this year to personally deliver the supplies.

At school, Nicole has received the Eagles Award every year for soccer, track and field, and cross country. The award recognizes athletes who show leadership, character, effort and skill. She was invited to participate in the Envision 2017 Presidential Inauguration Leadership Summit.

Honorable Mentions: Rachel Metzner, North Broward Preparatory School; Matthew Ulino, Cypress Bay High School; Elad Tzvi Fraiman, David Posnack Jewish Day School

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Hansali Tavarez has been smitten by politics.

Together with a group of her peers, she registered more than 400 voters in Broward County through a summer fellowship with the Florida Democratic Party. Her goal was to serve underrepresented voters in her community, in particular, Hispanic voters. During the 2016 presidential campaign, she coordinated with Broward County’s Supervisor of Elections Office to host a weeklong voter registration drive at her school. Hansali is the founder and president of her school’s Political Awareness & Civic Engagement (PACE) Club.

She also is president of the HOPE Sunshine Club, where she teaches other teens about mental health, bullying and suicide prevention.

Honorable Mentions: Raven Bedford-Clark, Fort Lauderdale High School; Emily Maria Reyneri, Pembroke Pines Charter High School; Gabriela Rodriguez Garcia, College Academy at BCC Central

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Even in this digital age, Gabriel Vergara believes in the power of writing letters as a catalyst for social change.

His quest began with a letter-writing campaign calling for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an Iranian man who was imprisoned because of his Christian faith. Gabriel realized there were many other untold stories of human rights violations and he recruited fellow students in his campaign, highlighting problems with the Haitian elections and corruption in Brazil.

He passed on his legacy to the Da Vinci Society, the club at his school where the letter-writing campaign began.

Honorable Mentions: Christopher Vazquez, Christopher Columbus High School; Chloe Tenn, School for Advanced Studies/MDC Kendall Campus; Annmarie Machado, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy

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As a team leader at Craig’s Kosher Food Pantry, Trevor Weinstein oversees the food packaging process to meet each client’s dietary restrictions.

Craig’s Kosher Food Pantry is the only fully kosher food pantry serving the Jewish community in Broward County. Trevor keeps track of inventory, creates menus and delivers food, developing relationships with the people on his route, including a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor who “is practically a member of my family,” he wrote in his application.

At school, Trevor has excelled in the National Spanish Exam, is president of the Tikkun Olam (heal the world) Club and a member of Letters for Better, collecting and distributing books for children.

Honorable Mentions: Lai Mei Su, Nova High School; Julie Topf, University School of Nova Southeastern University; Valeria Cardona, Piper High School

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