This month’s lion is sophomore Asher Edwards. Edwards moved from Boston to Seattle during the summer of 2021, right in time to start their freshman year at NYHS.

Edwards enjoys geometry this year with Ms. Defunis. “Aside from the fact that geometry has come to me very easily, I really enjoy the way Ms. Defunis teaches and how she is as a person,” Edwards said. Their goals for this year consist of graduating with a 4.0 GPA and preparing for the SAT and ACT exams. “I plan on achieving this by taking practice tests and determining which one, SAT or ACT, I feel more comfortable with and then maybe going to tutoring lessons,” Edwards said.

Outside of school, Edwards volunteers at Seattle Humane, which is an animal shelter located in Bellevue. They are part of the Humane Teen Club, a club where teens learn about how an animal shelter runs and how the animals are taken care of. 

“I think I’m contributing in educating myself on how life at shelters runs,” said Edwards. At the shelter, the volunteers usually start the day off by going over what the day consists of and participating in group activities. Currently, they are working on a service project on collecting 20,000 pounds of animal food by April for those in need. 

Edwards is also a fellow at Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. This program consists of weekly learning on Zoom about modern-day Israel, halacha and how it affects different demographics, and a few Shabbatons over the year, including one coming up in June. 

This summer, Asher has some exciting plans. They will first travel to visit their dad, who lives in Boston, and then travel all the way to Israel to attend an NCSY program. Asher is going to participate in NCSY’s Hatzalah Rescue program, which is a co-ed program for teenagers interested in learning CPR and becoming a first responder. Teens on Hatzalah Rescue will be certified as EMRs, volunteer on ambulances, and help in the Hatzalah logistics center, in addition to learning about the challenges of Hatzalah and how they work on a daily basis. Asher chose this program from among many NCSY programs offered because it was the most interesting and engaging to them. “I am really excited to meet new people and have fun in Israel this summer,” they said.