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The Young Citizen of the Year wins a $2,000 college scholarship from AnnArbor.com. The nine finalists each receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Robert Bruce Dunlap Fund of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Finalists, chosen for their leadership and community service, were selected by the following panel: Connie Dunlap, who created the scholarship fund for finalists in memory of her husband; Tony Dearing, AnnArbor.com chief content officer; Jen Eyer, AnnArbor.com, director of audience engagement; and Jill Tewsley, AnnArbor.com events and promotions manager.

Following are profiles of the nine finalists.

Braeleigh Apley

Age: 16

High School: Greenhills School

Parents: MariAnn and Dale Apley

Nominated by: Jennifer Lazarus

College plans: Plans to study pre-med or languages

Braeleigh’s focus has been to make children happy, including those who don’t often get to just be kids. She started a “princess camp” when she was only in the fourth grade. Princess camp let little girls play dress up and participate in theme days. That camp has now evolved into “Princess and Pirate Day” for the young patients at U-M’s C.S. Mott’s Children’s Hospital. The patients dress up, get their nails painted, get fake tattoos and enjoy snacks. Those too ill to attend get a gift bag filled with the items they would have received if they attended. Braeleigh saw the need for the camp after volunteering at the hospital one summer and saw a lack of such activities for the patients.

Victoria Good

Age: 17

High School: Huron High School

Parents: Randy and Ann Good

Nominated by: RaShonda Jamerson

College plans: Eastern Michigan University

Victoria is the president of Huron High School’s Gay Straight Alliance. She was also one of 14 out of 60 students selected to be on Peer Mediation Council. Peer mediators help students deal with issues from homelessness to sexual abuse and even the everyday problems of being a teenager. Victoria has been a part of the Girl Scouts for more than 10 years and has done volunteer work through the organization. One such project was putting on a fair where she got to work with younger Scouts. She competes on her school’s crew team. Victoria loves working with children and works in her church’s nursery on a weekly basis. She hopes someday to be either an elementary school teacher or a school counselor.

Marysa Hill

Age: 17

High School: Huron High School

Parents: Sylvia Nesmith, James Hill

Nominated by: Rose C. Jones

College plans: Hampton University, Virginia

Marysa is a nursery assistant and an usher at her church, an intern for the Second Baptist Church Federal Credit Union and attended cosmetology school when she wasn’t in her regular classes this year. She was the junior president of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs Inc., a participant in "Christmas in April," in which she helped the less fortunate make home improvements. She taught math to middle school students through the Young People's Project and was an executive board member of the Huron High School Class of 2011. She has also participated in many other. Marysa just finished her senior year at Huron High School.

Lucy Holland

Age: 17

High School: Pioneer High School

Parents: Kathy and Marc Holland

Nominated by: Jenni Glysson

College plans: University of Michigan

A National Honor Society member who took 4 advanced-placement courses this year, a Girl Scout and volunteer, Lucy is also a part-time employee at Orchid Lane. In her 12 years with the Scouts she earned a Silver Award for crocheting hats for the children in the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital cancer center. She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and baked cookies for the Neutral Zone and the Red Cross. Lucy will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall.

Joey Houghton

Age: 17

High School: Community High School

Parents: Bill and Debbie Houghton

Nominated by: Janice Nash

College plans: University of Chicago

Joey has traveled the world doing volunteer work through the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church, Methodist Youth Fellowship. He has helped with church and home renovations in such places as Bulgaria, New Orleans and Kenya. At Community High School, he was a member of the Mock Trial Team for two years and was active in the Community Ensemble Theatre. This past year, he was president of the organization. Joey is a member of the National Honor Society and has been accepted to the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Oberlin College and Grinnell College. For his Eagle Scout project, he raised funds for, designed and built a rain garden at Greenwood Church in Ann Arbor.

David Reynhout

Age: 17

High School: Early College Alliance/Eastern Michigan University via Chelsea School District

Parents: Jeffrey and Teresa Reynhout

Nominated by: Jackelyn Martin

College plans: Eastern Michigan University with eventual plans to attend a military academy

David is the kind of guy you want to take camping with you. Through Scouts, he has taken a three-week, 200-mile backpacking trek where he practiced advanced skills in wilderness survival, orienteering, wilderness first aid and search and rescue. He went on to plan and lead a similar outing to teach other Scouts those skills. This summer he traveled to North Carolina for Wilderness EMT training. David has been active with many other organizations throughout the years, including 4-H, the Chelsea Area Players, the Chelsea Church of the Nazarene and more. He was awarded the 2009 High School Fellowship at Michigan State University, and received the William H. Danforth Leadership Award through 4-H. He has been the district representative for State Rep. Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Township, attending meetings of school boards, city councils, village councils and township boards within the district on behalf of Ouimet. He also received a nomination to the United States Military Academy at West Point from former Rep. Mark Schauer. He is currently working towards a Gold Congressional Medal.

Rachel Shevrin

Age: 17

High School: Pioneer High School

Parents: Caroline and Matt Shevrin Nominated by: Daniel Brown College plans: University of Washington, Seattle

Rachel is using her leadership skills to help the environment. She is the lead facilitator for Green Group, a teen-run program at Ann Arbor’s Neutral Zone, which focuses on learning about, adopting and promoting environmentally sustainable ways of life in Ann Arbor, according to Danny Brown, leadership coordinator at the Neutral Zone. The group does not have an adult adviser, but because of Rachel’s leadership, it has accomplished much, including developing a community gardening partnership with "Project Grow," providing presenting mentorship and education in Ann Arbor elementary schools, and a major screening of "The Age of Stupid," a film on the dangers of environmental irresponsibility, at the Michigan Theater. She was also a teen editor for “The Best American Non-required Reading” through 826michigan and is a dancer/choreographer with the Community High School Dance Body. Rachel just finished her senior year at Pioneer High School.

Emma Upham

Age: 17

High School: Saline High School

Parents: Terri and Jon Upham

Nominated by: Laura Wernick

College plans: Undecided

Emma has become an important voice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and has been a leader among advocates for changing the Saline schools non-discrimination policy to include the words, "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression." That effort failed, but Emma continues the battle for LGBT rights. She has been featured on the cover of “Between the Lines” for her quiet leadership. She has been a facilitator at Riot Youth, Neutral Zone's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Program, for two years. She participates in Gayrilla theater troupe, Riot Youth's theater troupe that performs at schools for administrators, teachers, counselors, and students. She is also a member of Students Educating Each other about Diversity (SEED) at the Neutral Zone, where she led dialogues and workshops for middle-schoolers from Ann Arbor-area schools. Emma will be entering her senior year at Saline High School in the fall.

Anica Zadrzynski

Mary Kumbier Photography

Age: 17

High School: Dexter High School

Parents: Cathy and Gary Zadrzynski

Nominated by: Cheryl Wells

College plans: Western Michigan University

Anica’s activities range from volunteering at the annual Special Olympics Bowling Tournament to making other students’ lives a little better through her membership in Students Performing Acts of Random Kindness. A member of the National Honor Society, Anica also manages to find time to be involved in theater at school and work at the Zukey Lake Tavern as a hostess. She was voted Dexter High School’s DAR Good Citizen representative.