Friday, November 10, 2006

Senior project culminates with dinner out

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Alex Mallea

Last year, Wood River High School initiated a program for seniors to involve them locally in work or projects outside of the school. The senior projects are mandatory in order to graduate. It can encompass anything from retrofitting a car to making a ski video to learning to make sushi. One of the most popular is throwing or hosting some kind of benefit for a valley based nonprofit organization.

For her senior project, Alex Mallea, a Wood River High School senior, is coordinating a fund-raising effort at the Ketchum Grill. A portion of the restaurant's evening's sales Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11, will be donated to Youth Adult Konnections, an initiative of the Blaine County Teen Advisory Council. Mallea, who is the current president of BCTAC, is working under the guidance of YAK director Frances Nagashima. She said she's spent hours writing press releases, doing mailings, conducting research, and sending out invitations.

"It's a huge learning curve," she said.

BCTAC is funded by a community coalition of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, civic and charitable groups, and grants. Its mission is to partner with teens to promote positive asset building through community service opportunities in the area.

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"It's important teens in the community feel valued, and this is a great way to promote a sense of ownership," said Mallea.

For more information on the "BCTAC Evening in the Valley," contact Mallea at 788-2172.