Leon Liu - Gold Award

School: Catlin Gabel School
Category: Teens (11-15)
Hours: 221

Leon is a junior attending the Catlin Gabel School. While learning and researching about prominent social justice issues such as gun violence and houselessness, he has learned the importance of bringing awareness to and educating others about these topics.

Hoping to participate in more activism-related events, Leon joined the Youth Leaders in Action program from the non-profit organization WorldOregon. It was there when he met a team of other young activists, all motivated to make a difference together. After deciding to focus on the topic of gun violence, the team set out with one goal: to spread information about gun violence and gun control efforts regionally, nationally, and internationally. As a result of hours of research, networking, and event planning, the team created a curriculum that can be adapted by teachers all around. Eventually, the team brought their newly created curriculum to the Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference(NWTSJ), a conference with the intended audience of teachers. Currently, the team is working towards becoming a non-profit organization with hopes of expanding its audience in the near future. From this experience, Leon has implemented and improved various skills such as networking and curriculum creation. He hopes that he has and will continue to make an impact in the activism world.

Furthermore, Leon has also made a volunteering impact through activities in association with OCC, including cooking and serving food at the Transition Projects Clark Center Shelter, helping out in the 2022 OCC Winter Drive, as well as hanging up lanterns in Chinatown PDX.

Outside of school and extracurricular activities, Leon finds enjoyment in playing piano and playing soccer competitively. He also loves spending time with his cat and dog, and has been enjoying finally being able to drive.

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 Leon Liu.