Ava Hedayat, 18, of Houston, who enters Baylor University this fall as a pre-med student, will bring positive energy, social consciousness and a commitment to the Red Cross mission with her to campus.

 It was at the relatively young age of 12 when Ava was living in Turkey that she first realized her desire to help others in need. She reached to the Red Cross in late 2022, to learn of ways she be of help.

 “I was in a very small town where no one really spoke English,” Hedayat said. “So, I got in touch with my high school counselor, and she told me about the Red Cross.”

In a sense, things came full circle for Ava in February 2023, when she was able to support disaster relief efforts in earthquake ravaged Turkey and Syria through online volunteer opportunities. A series of powerful earthquakes, the worst in more than 20 years, hit the region in the early morning hours of February 6, 2023, killing 55,000 people, destroying or damaging more than 200,000 buildings. She also reached out to the Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, a category 5 hurricane that caused widespread damage, flooding and more than 40 deaths in the Houston area.

“It made me sad to see how many lives were lost,” Hedayat said. “That’s when I realized that I could help online. Even if I couldn’t be there, there was behind-the-scenes work that could be done.”

Ava has been active with Red Cross activities at Houston Christian High School from which she graduated this spring. Her high school volunteer resume includes service as co-chair of the Youth Service Council, as an advocate for the International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Committee, and as an officer of the HCHS Red Cross Club.

“I saw that the Red Cross was doing everything I wanted to pursue, whether in high school or later in life,” Hedayat said. “I guess that it was something as simple as how passionate I was about the Red Cross mission and bring able to know that when we worth together as a group and a community that we can get the most done to move forward in life.”

When it was pointed other to her that she did a lot more volunteer work than the average high school student, Ava shrugged her shoulders and said, “I tried.”

Indeed, she did.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information about volunteering or contributing to the Red Cross’s mission, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS, visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @RedCross.