A true leader

Owen Zhang, a recent graduate of Bellaire High School, was chosen from nearly 10,000 applicants for the National Honor Society Leadership Scholarship. When he was five years old, Owen lived through the 2009 Urumqi riots in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. After coming to the United States, he drew from his experience witnessing discrimination and human rights violations to create a nonprofit, Project Lights, Camera, Action, which promotes educational opportunities for Uyghur children. The organization has donated $9,000 and more than 90 cameras to help Uyghur children document their struggles for the world to see. Owen also founded a second organization, iEngage, to inspire social responsibility in young people through camps focusing on project-based learning and volunteering.

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