Dinoscholars

Addis Sahle is a junior at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA. Addis is a Co-Founder and President of the Dino Scholars Mentoring Program and serves as Director of Community Outreach.
Addis’ interests include soccer, basketball, track & field, and playing the guitar. He plays soccer competitively with the Arlington Soccer Association elite travel club in addition to playing for his high school varsity soccer team.
Addis enjoys reading. One of his more memorable books is Wonder by R.J Palacio.
Addis always looks forward to continued improvement and learning, as well as remaining eager to provide wisdom to students who can benefit from his expertise. He hopes, too, that his enthusiasm for mentoring younger people will translate into a far-reaching impact on the academic careers of his mentees.

Lucas Samuel is a junior at Marshall High School in Falls Church, Virginia.
He is a Co-Founder and Vice President of the Dino Scholars Mentoring Program (DSMP). In that capacity, Lucas also serves as Director of Fundraising and as a Mentor in the Program.
Lucas is himself an avid reader; his favorite books include the Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling and Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry.
Lucas is a skilled soccer player, a sport he has enjoyed since his toddler years.
Lucas’ motivation to co-found DSMP with his partners stems from his passion for helping young folks and facilitating their progress.
Utilizing his current experience in tutoring kids for community service, Lucas is deeply inspired to support DSMP mentees in advancing their academic careers and achieving their goals

Zayma Negussie is a tenth-grade student at Jackson-Reed High School in Washington, DC. He is a Co-Founder, Director of Technology, and Mentor for the Dino Scholars Mentoring Program (DSMP).
Zayma is an avid reader and enjoys writing short stories. He regularly contributes to the Dino Storyboard Blog and cites Wes Moore's The Other Wes Moore, Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, and Ibi Zoboi and Yusuf Salaam's Punching the Air as his favorite books.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Zayma enjoys playing sports and is a member of the Varsity Football and Junior Varsity Basketball teams at Jackson-Reed.
As a founding member of DSMP, Zayma's primary goal is to help young children develop a passion for reading and writing, enhancing their communication skills and making them lifelong learners.

Lucas Aemro Selassieis a 10th grader at Washington International School in Washington, DC.
He is a Dino Scholars Mentoring Program Co-Founder and Director of Communications and Public Relations (DSMP). He also works as a mentor to the program's younger participants.
Lucas enjoys playing soccer and basketball.
Reading is one of Lucas' hobbies. He likes delving into stories, both short and long, on a wide variety of subjects.
Lucas' desire to co-found DSMP stems from his belief that reading, an activity that he enjoys and learns from, may enhance people's lives.
Lucas also enjoys writing short stories and regularly contributes to the Dino Storyboard blog.

Leul Negussie is the Director of Dino Scholars, California Chapter, a mentor, and a contributing author for Dino Storyboard. He is in charge of the reading and mentoring program in California.
He is a junior at Pacific Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Leul enjoys reading, and his favorite books include the Divergent series and Endurance. He is also a contributing short story writer for Dino Storyboard Blog.
Leul is a varsity swimmer on the Westside Aquatics Club Team.
Leul plays the piano and guitar.
Leul is dedicated to the Dino Scholars Mentoring Program's mission of instilling a love of reading in younger children, which will help them succeed

Yaphie Selassie is a tenth grader at The Lab School of Washington in the District of Columbia. Yaphie is a Co-Founder and mentor of the Dino Scholars Mentoring Program (DSMP). He also serves as Corporate Secretary with DSMP. As Secretary, Yaphie’s work advances the mission of DSMP—to support younger students and help them develop a love of reading—by focusing on programming initiatives and collaboration among the Co-Founders. Yaphie’s overall interests are swimming, basketball, track and cross country.
He is also an avid writer and artist, focusing on African art and producing creative cartoons and animations.
Through DSMP, Yaphie is dedicated to making a measurable impact on the literary skills and overall maturity of his younger mentees, who themselves are expected to help younger learners achieve growth in the future.

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