Westfield High School 11th grader, Alexandra Jackman, received the Prudential Spirit of Community Bronze Medallion on April 25th. Congratulating “Alex” is her school Counselor, Andrew Buckner, Assistant Principal Derrick Nelson, and Robert Zenn, a Prudential representative. The community service award was presented to “Alex” in recognition of her short film called “A Teen’s Guide to Understanding and Communicating with People with Autism,” created in both English and Spanish. Mr. Zenn noted that the film has been viewed by 56,000 people in schools, universities, and organizations throughout the world. The film is also integrated into New Jersey’s anti-bullying Week of Respect program. Upon receiving the award, “Alex” commented,
“I am honored to receive this Distinguished Finalist Award from Prudential. More importantly, I have enjoyed spending the last year as an autism advocate, speaking to schools and other organizations about autism awareness and acceptance. This month has been especially busy as it is autism awareness month. My favorite event this month was getting the chance to speak at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and meeting some of the patients and their families. I also spoke at a local middle school as well as a community service day for local teens.”
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