WEST ORANGE, NJ - West Orange High School senior Darlene Folas has been awarded the prestigious Princeton Prize in Race Relations along with a select group of students nationally. Folas was recognized for her volunteer activities to advance racial equity and understanding in her school and the West Orange community.

Darlene has served as one of the Student Liaisons for the Board of Education as is part of the West Orange High School Student Council, working on many initiatives that include suicide prevention and attendance at the Student Leadership Summit.

Folas has been part of the AFJROTC since freshman year and currently leads the Advertisement Flight. She also held leadership roles in Academic and Logistics Flight. She is a member of the Girls Tennis Team as well. 

“Last year I lead a club called WOKE and served as the President of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation Youth Advisory Board," noted Folas.

"These positions showed me that I was capable of leadership roles like BOE Liaison and had a genuine passion for the community impact it made,” she continued.

Although the all-expense-paid trip to the annual Symposium on Race at Princeton University was canceled this year due to Coronavirus, Folas will receive a $1,000 award.

Darlene has not made a decision yet on a college or major but knows she wants to work in the Humanities.

Read more about the Princeton Prize in Race Relations here.

Darlene Folas