Anna Tramposch
Yorktown High School

Anna Tramposch wasted no time when she entered her freshman year. She immediately joined the Teen Network Board, an Arlington County youth advocacy program dedicated to combating bullying and generally improving the lives of Arlington youth. By her junior year,  she was co-chairing the group and had almost doubled its membership.

In that role, she also wrote and presented a grant proposal that led to funding for a pilot program with the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management—one that provided leadership opportunities for youth interested in careers in emergency management.

Still, Tramposch sees her most important contributions as acts that aren’t easily quantified or expressed in a résumé. Since ninth grade, she’s been a member of Best Buddies, a program that builds one-to-one friendships between students with and without intellectual disabilities. “It seemed like a more meaningful way to spend my time instead of the pancake club,” says the 18-year-old, who made the honor roll every semester of high school and served as Yorktown’s Best Buddies chapter president her senior year. “If I can make someone’s day just by texting them and being there if they want to talk, I like doing that,” she says.

Tramposch continues to hang out with all the buddies she’s made over the years. Sandy, her buddy from sophomore year, comes over for manicures and gossip, while her junior-year buddy, Jesse, “is a guy’s guy” who meets up to play basketball.  Her current buddy, Kelvin, recently trained with her for a 5K fun run.

Soon, she will pack up and head south to Emory University, leaving the home in Tara-Leeway Heights where she has lived ever since her mom, Susan (a single parent), adopted her from China 15 years ago. She plans to major in global health or international business.

“Anna will leave a strong legacy of youth engagement, having elevated the teen voice in our community,” says Siobhan Grayson, youth coordinator for the Teen Network Board.

She also leaves a shining example of what it means to be a good friend.

—Wendy Kantor (photo by Michael Ventura)