Thursday, December 21, 2017

HAYLEY JENSEN SOARS THROUGH LIFE

By CAROLINE HART

Throughout the halls of Washingtonville High School there is no shortage of students who make the seemingly impossible, possible.  How many people can say that they know a student who received the Youth in Philanthropy Award,  is working towards her Gold Award in Girl Scouts, has traveled all around the world, and is even learning to fly an airplane?  Well, members of the Washingtonville community can!  Hayley Jensen, a friend and role model to many, is doing it all.

CAROLINE HART FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY
This past November, Jensen received the Youth in Philanthropy Award.  This award is given to a person between the ages of 10-23 who has demonstrated a commitment to the community through volunteering and charity.  Hayley clearly displayed the traits of a philanthropist when she executed her Gold Award in 2017.

Jensen stated that the Gold Award Project she is currently striving to obtain includes, “Creating a program to help underprivileged girls at an all girls school in the city of Newburgh.”  Jensen then went on to say, “A lot of basic necessities are not available to them, so, I collected donations of clothing and hygiene items and brought them to the school for the girls to 'shop'.” 

The plane Hayley  flies out of Orange County Airport
Not only does Jensen display humanitarian attributes in her own community, but she has also volunteered in other countries.  She has been traveling since she was young and has been all around the world to approximately twenty countries. Jensen exclaims, “It is everything to me, to be able to learn about a new culture and see the way people all over the world live.  It has definitely shaped who I am because I've learned how lucky and fortunate I am to have the life I do.”  

Jensen has always been interested in traveling, so when she started asking for flying lessons at the age of 11, it was not a huge surprise. Hayley is a part of the Take Flight Aviation Program through BOCES.  Being the only female in the class does not stop her from trying to achieve her dreams of flying.

Mr. Connolly, principal of Washingtonville High School, emphasized, “There are a lot of people who do things to make themselves better, she is certainly one, but she is just as involved in trying to make other lives better.”  Hayley has not only been a positive impact within the school, but has gone to other countries to do what she can to make a difference in the world as well.

In the future, Hayley hopes to study International Relations, where she added, “...which probably comes from all the traveling I’ve done.”  Though she wants to study International Relations, her future plans are still up in the air. 

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