Fairfax High School student Darwin Otchere joined students from 23 Fairfax County public schools as a named recipient of the 2021 Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County, designed to recognize young people who work as peacemakers. Recipients will be recognized at a virtual reception in March.
The Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County were begun in 2006 to encourage people to think more about peace as both a means and an end, and to recognize young people who work as peacemakers. Every year, the high schools in Fairfax County are asked to select one junior or senior, or a group of students, whose work has promoted peace. The project is organized by volunteers and funded by donations from 17 secular and religious sponsoring organizations.
Darwin is a member of the City of Fairfax Schools Superintendent's Advisory Team that proposed and helped implement the name change for Lanier Middle School to Katherine Johnson Middle School, Otchere is a leader on inclusion and student diversity issues. This fall, he met with the City of Fairfax Police to positively affect the relationship between police officers and students in the Fairfax community. Darwin is also a volunteer tutor in his community.