Earlier this year, for instance, Shenk received the Mayor’s Award for Youth Volunteer Service in Kettering. She was honored for her contributions to such programs as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Girl Scouts, St. Vincent De Paul, Learning Tree Farm and Mark A. Kreusch Safetyville Square.
Conor Ryan, director of communications at Alter High School, nominated Shenk as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem.
In both nominations, Shenk’s respect for others, sense of responsibility and kindness were highly praised.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
“It was honestly very surprising,” Shenk said of receiving the mayor’s award. “I received a voicemail one random day in April, telling me that I had been nominated.“ Mayor Peggy Lehner, “who was so kind, funny and an all-around amazing person,” gave her the award during a Kettering city council meeting.
Shenk, a Miami Twp. resident, will attend Miami University this fall on a full merit scholarship to study Political Science.
“From there, I would like to attend law school and go on to serve as a guardian ad litem for children in foster care,” she said. “It is important to me to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our society are heard and have an advocate.” Eventually, she would like her resumé to include mayor or state senator.
These political aspirations are not surprising. During her junior year in high school, Shenk was one of 25 students in the nation selected to move to Washington, D.C., and serve as a United States Senate page. “This experience inspired my love for law and government,” she said.
Shenk’s recent positions as co-president of Key Club and a member of Hope Squad at Alter also stand out as favorites.
“I loved working with Key Club because I got to lead other people in service,” she said. “As Key Club co-president, I helped facilitate over 1,000 of service to the community this school year.” On a global level, the club packed and provided 30,600 meals to impoverished families in Lesotho, Africa.
In Hope Squad, a peer suicide prevention group in schools, “we were taught how to recognize signs of depression, stress and anxiety, along with the signs of someone contemplating suicide” she said. Additionally, the members also were taught how to intervene and help people get the mental health care they need.
“There is no better feeling to me than seeing that I have had a direct impact on bettering someone’s life, or cleaning up nature, or taking care of a homeless animal,” Shenk added. “It also has a lot to do with my faith. I’ve been asked my whole life ‘What would Jesus do?’ And as I grow older, I find I ask myself that question much more frequently, and it often leads to that desire to serve.”
Shenk’s family members, too, have undoubtedly supported her dedication to helping others. Her parents are Matthew Shenk and Lydia Denslow-Shenk; her sister Lauren, 20, is a nursing student at the University of Cincinnati.
The loss of “two amazing people in my life, my Great-Uncle Charles and my Great-Aunt B (Sandra),” she added, compelled her to never lose sight of her journey as a tireless volunteer.
“Both of these people went out of their way to help others and were each described as light in the lives of others; and I realized that is how I want to be remembered.”
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