Mercer Island High School seniors Arwa Mokdad and Jamling Sherpa were the Mercer Island Rotary Club’s students of the month for January.

These Rotary selected these students from the Social Studies Department. Alexandra Baker, MIHS social studies teacher, presented the students to the Rotary during a recent meeting.

Mokdad’s leadership includes her participation with the Mercer Island Teen Advisory Board and the YALLAH Commit to Action. She is also an officer of the Gender Equality Club, vice president of the International Club, co-president of the Amnesty International Club and co-president of the Stay Woke Club.

Mokdad is active in numerous other clubs and organizations, including the ACLU Club, Homeless Education and Living Project Club, Diversity Action Team and Junior State of America.

Her honors and awards include a certificate of Distinguished Achievement from the Digital Young Leadership Exchange Program in 2017. As part of this competitive U.S State Department program, students from the U.S and Iraq went through leadership training, designed programs for their community and learned about activism and culture. Mokdad has also been recognized by the National Honors Society and Spanish Honors Society.

Sherpa has recently been working on his civic action project for his civics course, which is about the preservation of Sherpa culture in the Pacific Northwest. In a statement he said he has come to realize how “dear” his culture is and he is humbled to be a part of the community of Sherpas.

“I became more aware of the importance of preserving the Sherpa culture here in the Northwest, by talking to many relatives who are part of our community organization called the Northwest Sherpa Association,” Sherpa continued. “I honestly think that doing this project has been the best thing that has happened to me this year, in terms of narrowing down on what I’m really passionate about.”

Sherpa plans to attend Bellevue College, then transfer to a film school or to freelance as a cinematographer/videographer through his YouTube channel Sherparts.