Top Teens

Meet the 13 winners of the 2016 Bethesda Magazine Extraordinary Teen Awards

April 7, 2016 1:24 p.m.

Alice Felker

Senior, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

As a sophomore, Alice Felker was playing in an elite USA Field Hockey Futures Program tournament when an injury changed the course of her life.

A concussion—her fourth—resulted in doctors advising her to quit contact sports. Extremely disappointed, Alice threw her passion and energy into her work with Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart’s chapter of Best Buddies. Under Alice’s leadership, the chapter grew from a couple dozen members to 85 and was named Maryland Chapter of the Year in 2014-2015.

Alice, 18, says her forced departure from field hockey steered her toward her true passion: advocating for the inclusion of students with disabilities. “I think there’s something really vital about interacting with people who are different from you, and I want all students to experience that joy,” Alice says.

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Best Buddies Maryland Operations Coordinator Elizabeth Stoner liked Alice’s imaginative event ideas—such as “Buddies Give Back,” in which Stone Ridge students performed charity work with their buddies—but was even more impressed by her step-by-step plans to enact those ideas. “A lot of kids I work with have enthusiasm, but Alice has the maturity and planning skills to match,” Stoner says.

Kathleen Glynn-Sparrow, associate director of college counseling at Stone Ridge, says Alice’s GPA is “absurdly high” for the school. Alice is also senior class president and on the school’s swimming and track teams.

The Bethesda teen researched and wrote a 30-page proposal for integrating students with disabilities into Catholic school classrooms, and presented it to Catherine Ronan Karrels, Stone Ridge’s head of school. Alice plans to study education and business in college, and hopes to found her own inclusive Catholic school in the future.

“Let me assure you: She is serious, and will absolutely accomplish this worthy endeavor,” Glynn-Sparrow says. “This kid is for real.”

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