PennDOT, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Announce ‘Young Ambassadors’ for Third Year

​40 students selected throughout Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB) today announced the 2024-2025 cohort of Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania. The program, administered by KPB, is designed to grow community stewards and civic leaders by engaging and empowering young Pennsylvanians to keep their communities healthy and become ambassadors for a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania.

Students were selected through a competitive application process and have committed to nine months of service as ambassadors. From September through May 2025, participants will develop civic leadership skills and experiences to champion and advocate for clean and beautiful communities across Pennsylvania.

"Programs like Young Ambassadors are the first step in creating lasting impact on Pennsylvania's ecological health," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. "These students will go on to become decision-makers and steer the state's green future. Starting now is critical."

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will be awarding a minimum of two $1000 scholarships to seniors in the Young Ambassadors program, both current and past participants.

"We are proud to welcome this new slate of Young Ambassadors to our program and excited to provide opportunities for them to engage and activate within their own community. Together, we will explore and connect with young professionals and like-minded students from not just Pennsylvania, but across the country and make a positive impact in our shared communities. We look forward to witnessing the remarkable achievements and positive changes that will emerge from this dynamic group," said Shannon Reiter, President, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

2024-2025 Young Ambassadors of PA:

• E. Yocum, 12th grade, Westinghouse Arts Academy, Allegheny County
• Ghizal Halim, 11th grade, Bensalem Township High School, Bucks County
• Zackery Laubach, 12th grade, Bellefonte Area High School, Centre County
• Alexander Calalang Gutierrez, 10th grade, Conestoga High School, Chester County
• Noori Choudhary, 11th grade, Unionville High School, Chester County
• Sonya Patel, 12th grade, Downingtown STEM Academy, Chester County
• JD Reyes, 12th grade, Oxford Area High School, Chester County
• Hannah Harvey, 11th grade, Susquehanna Township High School, Dauphin County
• Isaiah Khan, 12th grade, Susquehanna Township High School, Dauphin County
• Erica Rainford, 11th grade, Ridley High School, Delaware County
• Layani Watson, 10th grade, Penn Wood High School, Delaware County
• Anvitha Vallabhaneni, 10th grade, Garnet Valley High School, Delaware County
• Naba Hassan, 11th grade, Penn Wood High School, Delaware County
• Gnana Ananya Desireddi, 11th grade, Fairview High School, Erie County
• Holden Siegler, 12th grade, Fairview High School, Erie County
• Masa Alkhudari, 11th grade, Fairview High School, Erie County
• Samaira Karmarkar, 12th grade, McDowell High School, Erie County
• Silvia Kang, 10th grade, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, Erie County
• Annamary Oslikova, 11th grade, Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Franklin County
• Soo-Jin Callahan, 10th grade, Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Franklin County
• Marissa Hedin, 12th grade, Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Franklin County
• Ava Spencer, 11th grade, Purchase Line High School, Indiana County
• Emily Claps, 11th grade, Valley View High School, Lackawanna County
• Joy Beckish, 10th grade, North Pocono High School, Lackawanna County
• Kaitlyn Priest, 12th grade, Lakeland Jr/Sr High School, Lackawanna County
• Peyton Martin, 11th grade, Lakeland Jr/Sr High School, Lackawanna County
• Edie Hann, 10th grade, Scranton Preparatory School, Lackawanna County
• Shrey Singh 11th grade, Lampeter Strasburg High School, Lancaster County
• Alexia George, 11th grade, Methacton High School, Montgomery County
• Kumba Tonguino, 11th grade, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, Montgomery County
• Olivia Sellers, 11th grade, Perkiomen Valley High School, Montgomery County
• Jaclyn Keyser, 12th grade, Perkiomen Valley High School, Montgomery County
• Callum Dormer, 10th grade, Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy, Schuylkill County
• Emmet Portland, 11th grade, Nativity B.V.M. High School, Schuylkill County
• Miranda Burkot, 12th grade, Nativity B.V.M. High School, Schuylkill County
• Ravit Patani, 10th grade, Peters Township High School, Washington County
• Shrehan Patel, 10th grade, Peters Township High School, Washington County
• Brett Anthony, 11th grade, Greensburg Central Catholic High School, Westmoreland County
• Emily Lori, 12th grade, Greensburg Central Catholic High School, Westmoreland County
• Kathryn Trautmann, 12th grade, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Westmoreland County
  

KPB will provide education and training to program participants on topics related to the impacts of litter, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management, and social media marketing. Ambassadors will have an opportunity to apply for job shadow opportunities with two companies, DOW, Inc. and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania/NiSource. Selected students will spend the day in the field with sustainability professionals. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will provide a stipend to participants to support time and travel expenses.

For more information about the program and the Young Ambassadors, visit the program page or contact Kylie McCutcheon at [email protected].

The Young Ambassador program was recommended in the commonwealth's Litter Action Plan, announced by the Wolf administration in 2021 in response to a 2019 Pennsylvania Litter Research Study, which found Pennsylvania has more than 500 million pieces of litter on its roadways. The action plan includes strategies for all Pennsylvanians to fight litter in their communities.

PennDOT provides many additional litter cleanup volunteer opportunities, including Adopt-A-Highway, Litter Brigades, and more at their roadside beautification web page.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Zachary Appleby, 717-783-8800 or [email protected] ​

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