Ivana Evans '12 is One of Philadelphia's "Young Heroes"

According to Philadelphia's National Liberty Museum, Ivana Evans '12 is a hero.

On August 21, Evans was honored with one of the museum's Young Heroes awards for co-founding“Stand Up and Speak Up,” a mentoring program for young people in Evans' hometown of Chester, Pa. She and friend Ra'Shona Pierce (now at the University of Pittsburgh) started the program in response to the violence, drug dealing, and gang activity that has become common in their town.

“We noticed that these things were having a horrific effect on children,” says Evans.

“Stand Up and Speak Up” paired Evans, Pierce and some of their classmates from Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del. with junior high school students at Chester's Drexel Neumann Academy. The older students discussed issues of violence, sex, drugs, peer pressure, family and education with their younger partners.“The ultimate mission of the program is to make the children leaders,” says Evans.“We want them to know that they are not too young to lead.”

Evans says she has her father to thank for her Young Heroes award.“He works with children in Chester and he often takes them on trips to Philadelphia,” she says.“One day on a trip to the National Liberty Museum, one of the employees told him about the award and he told her about ‘Stand Up and Speak Up.'” He submitted his daughter's and Pierce's names in nomination and, two months later, Evans heard a message on her answering machine saying that she and her friend had been chosen.

“I screamed for about 15 seconds,” she says, laughing.

The day of the award ceremony was triumphant not only for Pierce and Evans, she says, but for all of the“Stand Up and Speak Up” volunteers.“It was also a great day for all young people who see something wrong in the world and want to do something about it, but don't know if they can or don't know how to begin,” she says.“‘Stand Up and Speak Up' is an example of young people taking a leadership role in this world.”

-Brenna McBride