Who WE Are – Shania Lewis

Shaniya Lewis stays busy at William Penn High School, and in her community. When she isn’t taking AP and honors classes, participating in Mock Trial, or teaching younger students about the negative effects of drugs, alcohol and drugs through the 4H Health Rock program, she serves as president of the Youth Council for the Newark Branch of the NAACP. Shaniya, a senior, hopes to recruit fellow students from William Penn to become active members in the NAACP, saying she joined because she wants to be a change agent and stand up against  racial and social injustice. Lewis is also holds a leadership role with the League of Women Voters. “I felt it was just wrong to stand on the sidelines and do nothing,” Lewis says. A newcomer to Penn in  the 2018-2019 school year, Lewis says she couldn’t help but notice that her new peers came from what she calls “a place of struggle,” but she admires the sense of comradery and the interest fellow students express when she talks about her work with the league and  the NAACP. “I’ve never met any kids like these because they’re driven. It’s a different kind of motivation that you see in them,” she says. Shaniya Lewis, makes Colonial Nation proud because she is equally driven and is a powerful example of Who We Are! 

Shaniya is #WhoWEAre.