German David Araya – Lawrenceville, Georgia

David Araya is the founder of the Hispanic Organization Promoting Education (HoPe), a nonprofit that promotes education in high schools through leadership, education, and community service that is impacting thousands of students in Georgia. He founded it when he was only 18, in response to the needs that he was experiencing as a child of immigrant parents. However, instead of letting his struggles define him, David founded HoPe to empower Latino students like him to follow their dreams. Seven years later, HoPe is the largest Latino youth organization in the U.S., and transforms the lives of thousands of students. Joel Manby shares, “A leader may decide something, but the whole organization needs to execute it”. With Jesus as his model, David has trained 223 high school students to promote HoPe’s pillars at their high schools, and exemplifies what it means to serve an underserved community with love. He has a gift for connecting with students and pushing them to reach their dreams and enact change in their communities. This sense of community drives David and HoPe’s leaders, and these students bring the same atmosphere to 2000 members at 25 high schools across Georgia.