JA 18 Under 18 2024
PHOEBE TAYLOR
Usually students are following a curriculum, not writing one. Not so for Phoebe, who wanted to bring her passion for sustainbility to a wider audience. She entered Baltimore’s Philanthropy Tank (similar to Shark Tank), pitching “The Environauts.” Her idea, a program to teach youth about age-appropriate environmental actitivies, won her $8,000 in seed money that she’s used to write a curriculum currently being used in two Baltimore City elementary after-school programs. A 12th grader at Roland Park Country School and president of her school’s Computer Science Honors Society (CSHS), Phoebe also helped develop an inititave to excite fourth and fifth graders at her school about computer science, which she and a peer were invited to present about at the national CSHS Leadership Summit. Despite her ambitious course load and many extracurriculars, Phoebe always has time to inspire others to action.
“This is the true skillset I want to highlight: Phoebe’s generosity… It is a key to her success, and it comes from her most authentic self.” —Neda Blackburn, teacher