2019 HATCH Montana Attendees (Students)

Max Palazzi is a Creative Media and Film major at NAU, currently studying the art of filmmaking. He is passionate about art and music for social change.

Henri has zero qualms about describing himself as EXTRA. He's a young, driven student committed to making as much positive change as he can before his crippling cynicism takes hold. He loves math, cats, kitchens (and cooking), books, and sarcasm. And, oh yes, he is desperately trying to avoid the likelihood of an environmental apocalypse.

Samantha was born in Honduras, and moved to Big Sky when she was 12 years old. She enjoys working and being helpful, and holds many goals in life - one of which is to make her family proud. She intends to become a successful business-woman or lawyer and wants change the world by becoming an example for young women around the world to follow. At only 16 years of age, she has lived and experienced a lot, dreams big, and thinks that hard work and a good attitude can make a big difference in life.

Nathan moved to Montana in August of 2018 for his sophomore year in high school. Since then he has enjoyed Big Sky and all the community and outdoor activities and sports that the town has to offer. He's passionate about maintaining an excellent academic performance in school, and experiencing the best of what life has to offer - including the HATCH experience.

Merielen is a high achieving student at Alliance Dr.Olga Mohan High School, and is part of the Junior States of America Organization. Through that organization she is able to voice her opinions on different political issues. In the future she aspires to major in Political Science and pursue a career as an attorney.

Joshua is a student athlete as well as executive cabinet member for a non-profit, non-partisan, student led organization known as the Junior State of America (JSA). Within this organization, he’s president of his chapter and mayor for his region. Within this organization, he plans events, connects other chapters with one another, expands chapters, and coordinates activism and political events Outside of the organization, he spends his time playing basketball for his school’s team, caring for his guinea pigs, and working out with his friends.

Alexis Jackson is a Montana transplant originally born in the Midwest. Her family relocated to Big Sky Montana 8 years ago to give everyone a different perspective on life. Alexis is completing her Junior Year in High School at Big Sky Discovery Academy. She was given the honorary title of Resident Fashionista by students and teachers at her school for expressing her own creativity through fashion. When Alexis is not in the outdoors skiing, dirt biking, or backcountry camping in Yellowstone you will find her following her passions of singing, drawing, writing, and learning about history.

Ryan is a 14 year old musician, runner, and dyslexic. He was featured in the Montana Standard newspaper as the November Student of the Month. Ryan has attended iD Tech camps in 3D printing, coding, and machine learning, and aspires to be a Computer Scientist. When not pursuing academics, Ryan embraces the Montana outdoors. He enjoys playing the piano as a creative outlet, most recently making a promotional video for his cross country team. He runs a small lawn care and snow removal business. Wanting to bring tech opportunities to rural areas, he looks forward to HATCH collaboration.

Reilly is a junior at Lone Peak High School. She is an avid volleyball player and passionate about photography and creative writing. Most of all, Reilly is looking forward to HATCH to meet new people and explore ideas!

Valeria is a high school senior, dedicated to her education and community. Ambitious and people-driven, she is involved in extracurriculars such as the ACLU’s Youth Liberty Squad, Junior State of America chapter at school, Culture Committee leadership cohort and more. Recently, Valeria became a board member of her school's site council. She loves debating, reading (literature), drawing, and catching up on politics!

Victoria is a senior at Alliance Collins Family High School in Huntington Park, CA. She is the Vice President of JSA within her school.

Jessica is a freshman at Lone Peak High School. She is passionate about issues concerning international relations and is interested in learning to tell stories through writing and photography. For fun, Jessica enjoys sports and being outdoors.

Amarachukwu (Amara) is a high school senior and the president of the Bangor High School chapter of the Stormwater Management Team. As a member of this team, she samples sites along her local streams in order to ensure that it is safe for recreational use. Amara also conducts independent research, testing whether the presence of fungi in plant roots enhances the removal of heavy metal pollutants from water. This research awarded her with the First Place and Best of Category Awards in the category of Plant Sciences at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Beth Wrzesinski is a senior in high school in Bozeman, Montana and enjoys participating in a variety of extracurricular activities. She is an officer for the Human Rights Club and a captain for her Speech and Debate team. She is passionate about film because it allows her to connect to people visually. She has had the opportunity to make several short videos to promote non-profit projects in the Bozeman area.

Sophia Cone is a 16 year old Big Sky high school student with an eye for design and a major travel bug. While visiting places like Africa, London, France and China, she discovered her love for experiencing new cultures. She recently spent time working as an interior designer for Big Sky Redesign and learned a lot through the opportunity. Sophia is very passionate about interior design, environmental issues and soccer.

Charlie Strom is a sophomore at Bozeman High School. For as long as he can remember, Charlie has loved to build and create. He has pursued woodworking and metal sculpting, while also producing the odd flamethrower here and there. More recently, he has built several foundries and begun teaching himself guitar.

Kamia is a sophomore at Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High School. She enjoys playing basketball and debate. Kamia is passionate about human rights and equality for all.