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By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
Needham High seniors Jeremy Sutherland and Emily Oakes were honored at the February meeting of the Needham Exchange Club as the organization’s Youths of the Month.
The program recognizes local high school seniors who have dedicated themselves to community service. The Exchange Club honors Youths of the Month and of the Year and provides scholarships for graduating seniors.
Sutherland was presented with his honor by Michael Greis. He is active in theater and with the Needham High music department, as well as the a cappella group The Subway Dwarves.
He has also worked with the Needham Diversity Initiative since seventh grade and this year he was the host for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at Needham High. In addition, he has volunteered with the Needham Human Rights Committee, the Needham Clergy Association, and the Congregational Church’s Immigration Task Force.
Oakes received her award from Marianne Herlihy. She has long participated in dance and is currently one of the top students at Needham High. In a notice from the Exchange Club, it was noted that Oakes’ guidance counselor called her “someone who is trying to be the nicest person she can be.”
She has been a tutor for and became friends with a Haitian immigrant who had lost two years of schooling due to the terrible earthquake that struck the island and who arrived in Needham knowing no English.
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
