PAHOKEE — Pahokee-based 11th-grade student Farjana Yasmin is taking community leadership to new heights in western Palm Beach County. Farjana has spent over 370 hours volunteering with Frog Alley Community Garden, a collaborative food and botanical farming co-op in Pahokee, providing food with no harmful chemicals to local residents. Through her extensive volunteer experience with the organization, she has learned about irrigation, weeding techniques and soil rotations, and became a true community leader in the process.

Farjana Yasmin

Farjana believes that education is the key to breaking out of poverty and becoming successful. She moved to the U.S. from a deeply impoverished country with few opportunities, and hopes to set an example for other students in the community to work hard to achieve their goals. She is a deeply impressive student and was just selected for Bank of America’s Student Leaders program, where she will participate in an eight-week paid internship in Palm Beach County with three other Bank of America Student Leaders. In July, she will attend a leadership summit in Washington D.C. with more than 200 fellow students from around the U.S. to meet with members of Congress and learn about diversity, nonprofit work and building leadership skills.