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2023 Young Citizen of the Year
This Westie is awarded to a high school student in the Westlake area who has contributed time, energy, and heart to both their school community and the Westlake community at large. It is in recognition of their outstanding contributions through community service activities that have made them an inspirational role model for other students in the Westlake community.
(see below for past winners)
Finalist: Anna DeLeonAnna De Leon, a Westlake High School sophomore, was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer in May. Amid her cancer treatment, Anna unintentionally gained viral fame on TikTok, using humor to shed light on her journey. She connected globally with other kids with cancer diagnoses, sharing encouragement and relating to the isolating experience of being a teenager with cancer. Wanting to support those undergoing cancer treatment and recognizing a lack of awareness, Anna initiated Chaps Against Cancer (CAC), a Westlake club. The club empowers students by providing knowledge on supporting, fundraising, and giving back to the cancer community, encompassing patients, families, and healthcare workers. With community support, CAC has donated to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, B.I.G Love Cancer Care, and Dell Children’s Medical Center Oncology Nursing Staff. Anna plans to expand CAC's involvement with cancer charities, advocating for patients, families, and healthcare providers. Beyond CAC, Anna, backed by the Westlake community, has raised over $20,000 for cancer-related charities like Livestrong and Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Anna is in remission. She “rang the bell” to officially mark her end of treatment, is back to an almost-normal schedule at school, and has started to join lady chaps basketball workouts again. It is a true honor to be recognized by the Westlake community.
Finalist: Anushka GodambeAnushka Godambe is a senior at Westlake High School and remains committed to serving the Westlake community through her love for gardening and reading. As the founder of the WHS Gardening/Botany Club, Anushka’s desire to introduce horticulture to the greater Westlake area led to the Plants in Classrooms project in which she individually placed an indoor plant in over 1,000 Eanes ISD classrooms over three years. This initiative resulted in Westlake K-12 students taking an increased interest in plants while creating classroom bonding experiences as students treated their shared plant similar to a classroom pet. Anushka is also an avid reader and partnered with Bookspring in 8th grade to host an ongoing book drive which builds home library collections for Austin youth. Thanks to years of support from individual donors throughout Westlake and the WHS and Westbank Libraries, Anushka’s book drive recently surpassed 30,000 donated books!
Finalist: Hadley McDonellHadley McDonell is a Westlake Senior with a heart for service. Since Elementary School, Hadley has had a heart for her friends with special needs. When she was given the opportunity to become involved in the brand new Westlake Best Buddies program, she ran with it and made it bigger and better than anyone could have imagined! Hadley is the president of Westlake’s nationally recognized chapter with over 170 members hosting monthly events! Hadley loves seeing buddies growing relationships and fostering friendship across our community. Eanes ISD is also the only district in the US with a chapter on every campus! In addition to her work with Best Buddies, Hadley is the CEO and co-founder of Connection, a software company for assisted living communities. During her time at Westlake she
served as a Leukemia Lymphoma Society Student of the Year raising over $30,000, President of the Miracle Foundation Student ambassador campaign, a member of GETMAD, and the Westlake High School Executive Board.
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Young Citizen of the Year
This Westie is awarded to a high school student in the Westlake area who has contributed time, energy, and heart to both their school community and the Westlake community at large. It is in recognition of their outstanding contributions through community service activities that have made them an inspirational role model for other students in the Westlake community.
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2023 Winner: Andrew Depwe, Westlake High School Senior
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2022 Winner: Cade Klubnik, Westlake High School Senior
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2021 Winner: Brooks Jeffers, Westlake Senior Class of 2021
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2020 Winner: Leo Lowin, Westlake Senior Class of 2020
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2019 Winner: Blake Sbrocco, Westlake Senior Class of 2019
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2018 Winner: Julia Breeden, Westlake Senior Class of 2018
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