Gabriella Grahek is this year’s winner of the Malibu Youth Dolphin Award. She is a senior at Malibu High School with an extensive list of people and projects she has helped with and worked on throughout her life, both locally and internationally.
Grahek brings her passion to Malibu High School, and has inspired others to join her in service. She is president of the International Awareness Club at MHS, where she prepares discussions and meetings.
One of the projects under her leadership was hosting a fundraiser for Urban Light that took place in her home. Attendees of the fundraiser heard Urban Light founder, Alezandra Russell, speak about the issue of human trafficking and watched a documentary, “Kavi,” about modern-day slavery.
Grahek went on an international mission with Urban Light, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing human trafficking and exploitation, to Chiang Mai, Thailand. There, she assisted in a medical clinic and taught English to at-risk youth.
After returning from her mission, Grahek planned an event for Urban Light called “Cover the Night” to spread awareness of the abuse and exploitation of humans in Chiang Mai. In 2012, she raised more than $10,000 for Urban Light.
In addition to her work with Urban Light, Grahek has also played a key role in helping to organize the Annual Sister School Fair that takes place in late May. The fair raises money for the MHS sister school in Darfur, Sudan.
Service Learning Coordinator at MHS, Nena Lauerman speaks highly of the work Grahek has completed during her time at MHS.
“Although I am sad that she is a senior and will be moving on, I know the legacy she has left will have an impact on students to come,” Lauerman says of Grahek’s work.