Walt Whitman student selected to student ambassador program

March 9, 2018 Schools
Annetta Sheriff

Annetta Sheriff is an 8th grader at Walt Whitman Middle School. (FCPS picture)

Annetta Sheriff, an 8th grader at Walt Whitman Middle School, has been selected as a youth ambassador for In A Perfect World, a nonprofit dedicated improving the lives of youth and their families in underserved communities around the globe.

Sheriff is one of eight students from the D.C. area selected for IAPW’s youth ambassador program, which also includes teenagers from the Los Angeles area. IAPW’s youth ambassadors help coordinate projects in their community to improve areas such as health, environment, poverty, gender, justice, the arts and education.

Sheriff was nominated for the ambassordship by Whitman civics teacher Joanne Mayerswalker. At Whitman, Sheriff volunteers with the school’s food bank. An FCPS news release said she strives to “stand up for people who don’t have the power or voice to do so.”

Sheriff is also a volunteer for Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), a D.C.-based affordable housing developer that owns the Stony Brook apartments on Buckman Road. Through CPDC, Sheriff helps provide books, toys, clothing and treats to the less fortunate. 

“Annetta is always willing to step up and serve her community,” said Ryan Barton, a Community Impact Strategies Manager for CPDC. “She’s a natural leader, and she’s done incredible work in the Buckman Road community, whether it’s leading the charge on environmental issues or working in our various youth educational programs. I think she has a natural instinct to help others.”

Barton noted that Sheriff served more than 200 volunteer hours over the past two years, and said that for her work in 2017, she will receive a Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Award in April, during National Volunteer Recognition Week.

Sheriff also participates in Whitman’s basketball, cheerleading, and dance teams, as well as the school’science club, tech club, Women of Vision and Purpose, AVID, chorus, and STEP.