[Note: Pictured from left to right are Convent of the Sacred Heart Upper School Head Jayne Collins, 10th-grader Jordan Cohen and Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes.]
Jordan Cohen's interests vary widely.
She's a swimmer who specializes in freestyle sprints and is set to captain the team here at Convent of the Sacred Heart, the King Street school where she's a 10th-grader.
The 16-year-old also likes English and the sciences, and makes friendship bracelets in her spare time -- including for the patients at a children's hospital.
"I also volunteer at the Shelter for the Homeless in Stamford," Cohen said in the parlor at her school Thursday morning. "For me it's about making people happy. I really like working with children and I want to be a doctor."
That's a sentiment that recently earned some acclaim for the teen. Cohen finished first out of more than 60 essayists who participated in the inaugural Community Service Essay Contest from VolunteerSquare (http://volunteersquare.com/) and Patch.com.
In her essay, Cohen talks about how her work with young cancer patients has changed the course of her life. Her essay can be found here: http://greenwich.patch.com/groups/volunteering/p/essay-by-jordan-cohen-convent-of-the-sacred-heart-g...
In addition to community service, Cohen said she does broadcast journalism in school and that a documentary she created with a friend has few awards in competitions.
"I also do science research at school and I'm researching 'non-invasive cell free DNA testing for Down syndrome," she said.
A list of all 10 finalists in the essay contest, including the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and seven runners-up, can be found here: http://darien.patch.com/groups/volunteering/p/congratulations-community-service-high-school-essay-co...
VolunteerSquare.com is a free service for Fairfield County residents and nonprofits. The site offers immediate, real-time matching as well as a social networking platform where registered users can share unique content like photos, videos and more—all related to volunteering.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
