Alizeh will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where she will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. While in D.C., the honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend an awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. At that time, ten will be named National Honorees and receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

Alizeh helped persuade her classmates in 2007 to raise money to build girls’ schools in Pakistan and has become a vocal advocate for the rights and education of Pakistani women. “Because my family is originally from Pakistan, I have always felt a significant bond and love for the country,” said Alizeh. After reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, an American who builds girls’ schools in Pakistan, Alizeh felt she had to join that effort.

A fund-raising committee at the school picked up on the excitement and decided to devote its annual festival to raising money for Mortensen’s organization. Alizeh brought her perspective as a Pakistani-American to the planning of the festival and ensured that Pakistani culture was represented, recruiting Pakistani women to donate ethnic food and offer henna tattoos. The festival ended up collecting $62,000, enough to build a school and supply it with furniture, textbooks, and five years’ worth of supplies. Afterward, Alizeh asked her classmates to write letters to schoolgirls in Pakistan and then traveled with her family to see firsthand the schools Mortenson has built. While there, she purchased more school supplies for students there and made a movie to present to audiences back home.

“The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “They truly deserve all of the praise and encouragement we can give them.”