"We think of school as family," Janhitha Veeramachaneni says.
"We make memories here that we will cherish forever."
The 17-year-old high school junior in Jersey City, NJ, is being honored by the Anti-Defamation League with its Cynthia Marks Student Legacy Award for her efforts to build tolerance among her school's diverse students, the Star-Ledger reports.
The ADL's 2024 No Place for Hate program applauds schools for creating inclusive communities where students respect one another and celebrate difference and diversity.
Veeramachaneni's school, the Infinity Institute, was one of 325 schools in New York State and Central New Jersey to receive the award last month.
The ADL's program asks schools to be more "accepting" of differences among their students and to engage in discussions about ethnic and behavioral ways of being in the world.
Among the discussions students had at Infinity: the evolution of the Arab woman's head scarf, Chinese food, and the Little Mermaid.
"We talked about TV shows, videos, and movies," one student leader tells the Star-Ledger.
"We talked about whether students could'see themselves' as any of the major characters portrayed....
The committee also arranged for a musical presentation by African
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