Lorna Fink, a sophomore at Paisley Magnet School, is one of only six North Carolina teenagers to be named a Distinguished Finalist for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.

Lorna, a 15-year-old from Kernersville, has been undergoing volunteer training for more than a year to raise seeing-eye guide dogs for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. The dog she is raising will be given to a non-sighted person, said Marion Pittman-Couch, the principal at Paisley Magnet School.

Nationwide, more than 20,000 students were applicants for the awards, but only 236 received Lorna’s level of recognition.

“She is really a humanitarian,” said Pittman-Couch. “She is always doing things to help other people.”

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in middle level and high school grades for outstanding volunteer service to their communities. Earlier this month, 104 State Honorees and the 236 Distinguished Finalists were announced from among all applicants.

The number of hours that Lorna has given in volunteer service also qualified her for the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. In addition to her work with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Lorna helps care for abandoned animals until they are adopted.

Lorna is a student in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme at Paisley. All 10th graders are expected to complete a community service requirement as part of the IB program, Pittman-Couch said. Lorna began planning for her project when she was in the eighth grade. Paisley’s magnet program is open to students in sixth through 10th grades. 

Created in 1995 by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the awards constitute the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteering.