By Christian Reyes
University of Washington News Lab
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Amid summer plans and college applications, Chief Sealth International High School student Molly Freed took a break from her regular life to attend a special conference with her social-studies teacher more than a thousand miles away.

Freed and her teacher, Noah Zeichner, were named Bezos Scholars in mid-April, an honor that only 12 students and 12 educators received across the country. All scholars attended the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in July.

“I was incredibly excited,” Freed said when describing her reaction when she first heard the news. “I had connected my happiness in general to whether or not I got into the program, so I was relieved that my summer was (going to be) as life-changing as I thought.”

The 17-year-old incoming senior was chosen as a Bezos Scholar by presenting her classmates at Chief Sealth International with a video about climate change. Her video later won an award in an international contest in 2009. Zeichner helped her throughout the process.

Freed must now use what she learned at the conference in Aspen to organize her own Ideas Festival for her school. She must also decide on a topic of her choice. This, on top of working on college and scholarship applications as well as interning at KUOW Radio.

For Freed, being recognized for her work had a meaningful impact.

“It was really empowering to be chosen,” Freed said. “It meant that people had faith in my ability as a leader.”

Freed attributes her success to Zeichner, who presented her with all of the opportunities and fueled her education on world-wide issues.

“Mr. Zeichner has been a guiding force for my development,” Freed said. “He’s also been an inspiration for me when I think about living a life that you’re passionate about.”

Zeichner, who is still helping Freed with her Ideas Festival, said he has been honored to work with Freed in both his global leadership class and on a tour in Guatemala with Global Visionaries. According to Zeichner, Freed’s leadership is “inspiring.”

“Molly is an extremely smart, thoughtful, talented young woman with a good head on her shoulders,” Zeichner said. “She has a great sense of humor and has a bright future ahead of her. Molly is an exceptional student who deserves the recognition.”

Chief Sealth principal John Boyd is excited and looking forward to the impact that Freed’s festival will have on the school.

“Our school theme this year is ‘Global awareness begins at home,’ which really fits into what she’s doing in this summit,” Boyd said.

When asked what this recognition means for his school, Boyd said: “When you get publicity like this, it’s always going to be nice. But for me, I’m just really excited for both Molly and Noah because they’re just two quality people and I’m happy … for them.

“(Freed) is a very bright young lady who is extremely focused academically,” Boyd said. “(Zeichner) is just one of those guys who, if you could clone him, you’d have the most successful school on Earth.”

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(Christian Reyes is a student journalist from the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)