Editor's note: This is one of several feature stories The Advocate is publishing this graduation season about Licking County graduates. For more, see the May 26 print edition or visit newarkadvocate.com.
When Natnaiel Ayele joined Licking Height's Cultural Identity Club, he found a place to express himself and thrive.
As the son of Ethiopian immigrants, Ayele could explore his culture in ways he never had before, particularly through the club's annual Diaspora show, in which students showcase their native cultures through dances, songs, poetry readings and fashion shows.
"Where we live, you don't see Ethiopian people all the time, everywhere. But when I went there (to the club), every Ethiopian teenager in my community was there," he said. "I never grew up speaking my language. But … that was my culture in America right there in front of me."
Ayele was one several 2024 Licking County graduating seniors who spoke to The Advocate about their high school years and their plans after graduating this spring.
Through his involvement with the club, Ayele became a leader as he helped organize the show and coordinate with other students, said Melissa Carter, an administrative assistant at the school who leads the club.
"I'll give him a task, and I do not even have to follow up with him. He will give the volunteers; he will organize the times. He just brings it to me completed," she said. "When you're working with students, that's rare."
Ayele joined the club his junior year. He played basketball his first two years of high school but opted not to as a junior. He was mostly spending his afternoons at home, and his upperclassman friends urged him to join the club and be in the Diaspora show.
He was partly driven to join the club because he wanted to be accepted into the National Honor Society after not getting in as a sophomore because he didn't have a wide range of extra curricular activities.
That rejection also lead Ayele to get involved in his community in other ways. He started spending time with the residents at the nursing home where his mom works, coordinating litter pickups with his friends in their neighborhoods, mentoring Licking Heights Middle School boys through a mentorship program and becoming an online tutor.
"I'm so glad I got rejected the first year from NHS because … I found my niche," he said. "I've made so many good relationships, and I'm just involved in so much."
Through all of those activities, Ayele's reasons for volunteering evolved as he found fulfillment in giving back to his community, he said.
"This is my home," he said, adding he moved to Blacklick from Whitehall when he was 3 years old. "I just want to be part of this community, like feel as if I'm a part of this community. I guess, in a cliché way, make my own mark."
And all of that volunteering has led to Ayele receiving a full-tuition scholarship to Ohio State University through the Morrill Scholarship Program, which rewards "academically talented students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities," according to the website.
While at OSU Ayele will major in actuarial science on his quest to becoming an actuary. He's considering pursuing a degree in computer science, but with so many other young adults majoring in that degree, he wanted to take a different path. He said he has always had a talent for math and feels being an actuary will be a good fit.
"I just feel like I could really blossom in that," he said.
mdevito@gannett.com
740-607-2175
Most Popular
Comments / 0