Monday, March 3, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Green Valley High School senior Christopher Walker and Johnson Junior High student Jana Burleson will each receive a silver medallion, $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C., where they will join other honorees in four days of national recognition events.
Walker, 17, developed a sound system that provides music and voice stimulation to newborns with complications.
After months of extensive research under a doctor's guidance, he sent a proposal for the "Operation: Good Vibrations" system to companies that produce neonatal incubators, and may soon see his project helping comfort fragile newborns who cannot be physically touched.
Burleson participated in a service club activity, visiting the Variety School several times to help mentally and physically challenged students participate in athletics including soccer, basketball and bowling.
"Volunteering helps you develop important skills and have fun at the same time," Burleson, 13, said, adding that she plans to work with the group again in the future.
Volunteers are awarded annually by the Prudential Insurance Company of America, in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Nearly 15,000 students were considered for this year's awards.
Three other Nevada students were named Distinguished Finalists by program judges and will receive bronze medals for their efforts.
Hyde Park Academy student James Cordes volunteered for the Special Olympics; Courtney O'Hara, of Woodbury Middle School, lent a hand at a retirement home, and Green Valley High student Greta Erbe created a program to teach dance to low-income children.
archive
