Giovanni Salinas of Holland has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from Planet Fitness for promoting inclusion and kindness in his community.
Salinas, a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holland, was one of 50 high school seniors nationwide to receive the Judgement Free Generation Scholarship, according to a community announcement. The scholarship is awarded to teens who exemplify the values of kindness and acceptance.
Salinas was celebrated at the South Holland Planet Fitness on July 31. He received a customized swag bag, a free one-year black card membership and the scholarship. He plans to attend the University of Michigan this fall to study public policy.
The Judgement Free Generation Scholarship Program was created to recognize youth who actively promote kindness and inclusion in their community. Recipients were selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants based on a personal essay, staff recommendations and a video submission.
Salinas highlighted the importance of a judgement-free environment in his application.
“I strongly believe that a judgement-free environment can foster kind and strong communities, all while improving overall well-being because it sets the foundation for an open-minded attitude towards people’s differences,” he said.
This story was created by reporter Nida Tazeen, ntazeen@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
