Staff Writer
The Maine Women’s Fund has announced that Kellene O’Hara, a Caribou High School senior, has been selected as the 2010 Samantha Smith Award Recipient.
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Caribou High School senior Kellene O’Hara, pictured here with civil rights team advison Allison Ladner, was chosen as the recipient of the Samantha Smith Award.
O’Hara was chosen for this award because of her active role on the Caribou High School Civil Rights Team. Officials with the MWF’s group stated, “Kellene is an ambitious leader with tremendous initiative and the ability to motivate her peers. O’Hara is currently leading the team in production of a training video, which the Attorney General’s Office will use in Civil Rights student trainings around the state. She has been the Project Manager for World Aids Day and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Week. Additionally, she has been instrumental in creating and tabulating a school-wide harassment survey, which shaped several other awareness activities. Without question, O’Hara has been a positive influence within her school and community. We are delighted to celebrate Ms. O’Hara’s accomplishments by presenting her the 2010 Samantha Smith Award at our June 10 Leadership Luncheon.”
The Samantha Smith Award is given to a young woman from Maine who has worked to promote social change in her school or community; who inspired other girls to become active in supporting long lasting change in Maine; who used her voice boldly to influence others and who understand the power of philanthropy to make a difference in this world.
O’Hara, the daughter of Thomas and Deborah of Caribou, has became involved with the Civil Rights Team when she was in the fifth grade. “When I first heard about the Civil Rights Team, I asked my parents what civil rights were,” said O’Hara, “they explained everything to me and I felt it was a very unique opportunity for me to be a member of the team.”
Since that time, O’Hara has been a strong voice on the team through her years at Caribou Middle School and the past four years at CHS. Allison Ladner a history teacher at CHS, has been adviser to the civil rights team since 2000. “Kellene is a tremendous leader in this group and it is a very natural fit that she will receive the Samantha Smith Award. We’re very proud of Kellene being named to this honor,” said Ladner, “Tom Harnett, assistant district attorney and project coordinater for the Civil Rights Team at the Maine Human Right Commission knows Kellene, immediately recognizing her when she calls, she is very pro-active on these issues and a very involved student.”
Mark Jones, principal at Caribou High School, said, “Kellene is a multi-faceted student and has been a great addition to the school. Through her work on the Civil Rights Team she has helped create a high level of awareness on a number of issues — she has kept things like bullying at the surface, something that we look at on a regular basis. We’ll miss her.” Jones also said he had been informed that the decision from the Maine Women’s Fund to award the 2010 Samantha Smith Award to O’Hara was unanimous.
The petite CHS senior is a very busy young lady. Not only does she continuously strive to influence her school in a positive manner, she is a member of the CHS National Honor Society, student council, drama club, strings, chorus, the French club, a writing group and is a homeroom representative. “I know I am going to miss Caribou High School after graduation,” confirmed O’Hara.
Following her graduation in June, O’Hara will be attending West Virginia University where she plans to earn degrees in forensic science and French.
The Civil Rights Teams are sponsored by the Attorney General’s office.
Samantha Smith, was born in Houlton, and gained international attention in 1982 when she wrote to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, trying to understand Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In response to her letter, Samantha and her family were invited to the Soviet Union and she became known as America’s youngest ambassador.
In the next few years, she continued to travel the world as a child ambassador. In 1985, Samantha and her father were killed in a plane crash. Samantha remains to this day, an inspiration of idealism, a voice of change and a model for peace and understanding.
Over 20 years, the Maine Women’s Fund has granted over $1.5 million to organizations across the State.
Last year, the fund granted nearly $80,000 to nonprofits which are creating long-lasting change that will build the economic security of thousands of women and girls. Through grant making, they are pushing for
policy changes, investing in education and girls’ independence and helping women build and expand businesses, train for better jobs and wages, build assets and make smart financial decisions. The group is working with women as leaders and donors to prioritize women as key agents of change for their families, communities and Maine.
