Justin Klausner

Student

I am a rising Senior at Agoura High School and candidate for Salutatorian. Honors, Achievements, Community and Extracurricular include: • Agoura High Wind Honors Concert Band: 1st Chair Baritone Saxophone • Agoura High Science Honor Society • California Scholarship Federation • Gold Service Award • Agoura High Varsity Baseball – Scholar Athlete • Agoura High Varsity Soccer – Scholar Athlete • Agoura Pony Baseball Champions Division; Youth Director • Agoura Pony Baseball; White Hat Official and Umpire

Volunteering and Helping Others - While most people are just starting their day, I have already been working for hours, delivering food bank boxes to needy senior facilities, picking up discarded groceries from local stores, and returning to the staging station at my food pantry so I am ready when the gate opens. When the coronavirus prohibited many of my academic and athletic opportunities, I sought the opportunity to help the community I saw struggling, and began working at the West Valley Food Pantry. With an extreme increase in clients starting in April, the pantry shifted its system to a drive-through, with volunteers such as myself safely putting food boxes in their trunks. The pantry is dependent on young volunteers like myself, as much physical labor is required to move pallets of food from storage to the distribution station and back. Sadly, there is a lack of volunteers due to the virus so I recruited and organized some friends to either donate or volunteer at the pantry.

Like most of us, my summer plans changed dramatically as a result of the global Coronavirus pandemic. Instead of working as an intern at my local state senator’s office and playing summer Varsity Baseball for Agoura High School, I found myself looking for other ways to connect with my peers and my community. A longtime fan of Ted Talks I applied for a TEDx Youth License. My intent was to create a way for my peers to connect during Safer-at-Home orders in Los Angeles.

As a Varsity Dual Sport Scholar Athlete, most people don't know that I am also a Musician - 1st Chair Baritone Saxophone in Wind Honors Concert Band. I have been playing for 9 years. I also perform in the Harmonic Youth Orchestra. We perform monthly in Senior Centers and with the pandemic, we moved our performances virtually and continue to send the centers a performance each month.