Danica Leung - Gold Award

School: Lincoln High School
Category: Young Adults (16-25)
Hours: 287

In her second year of receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award, Danica has dedicated her hours to uplifting student voices and giving back to her community. She utilizes her civics know-how to teach with Mission Citizen, a non-profit which helps immigrants pass the citizenship exam, and has taught both English and Mandarin-speaking students. She is also passionate about politics and advocacy, which is why she volunteered with the Crag Law Center, an environmental group that provides free and low-cost legal services to those working on the ground to protect our environment, climate and communities. As captain of the policy debate team, Danica teaches and coaches her novice and varsity teammates on political advocacy and analysis. She also coaches student speakers with TEDxYouth Portland to help them prepare TED talks. Volunteering has been an eye-opening and humbling experience for Danica to become a more compassionate community member and leader. She has discovered just how fundamental education and mentorship is to social advocacy, and she is proud that her work is able to make a difference in her community.

Oregon Chinese Coalition is proud to join the President of the United States in recognizing the volunteers who consistently take the time to make a difference in the lives of others. Therefore, it is a great honor to present the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to Danica Leung.