Now for Alexis’s interview questions, which range from bullying to LGBTQIA+ issues to the aesthetics of feminine beauty. You can read more about her remarkable character and thoughts on everyday activism in Part One of this two-part winner’s series. The following questions were posed to Alexis last summer. Her responses were so complex and insightful, I decided to feature them in their own separate post. In addition, Alexis is a talented photographer, and her portraits have been featured on this page. What are some of the ways high school students can take a stand against bullying at school? What advice would you give to someone who is being targeted by…

I could not be happier or prouder to introduce Alexis Votran of Costa Mesa as this year’s recipient of the PLV Scholarship of Orange County. Her application essay embodies the spirit of this scholarship program — it was raw, honest, and painfully jarring in places, but filled in equal parts with hard-earned resilience, mature insight, and a commitment to transform her own experiences into vehicles for positive change. Alexis emerged as a deeply compassionate young woman who feels called to impact her community and the broader world for the better, always pressing onward with bold and brave steps. Since Alexis’s own words express her story more powerfully than I could,…

A couple of years ago, I attended a presentation on the health and well-being of children in my home community of Orange County, California. The event was hosted by my local chapter of Junior League, JLOCC, and organized by the Orange County Children’s Partnership (OCCP). Each year, OCCP releases a report that summarizes community progress on matters related to health, safety, and education. I was heartened to see positive 10-year trends in several key areas (as also reflected in last year’s more recent report):  OC kids are healthier than they were a decade ago, with greater access to healthcare, higher rates of immunizations, fewer teen births, and lower preterm and…