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Brielle Friedman

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Brielle Friedman said she has a commitment to community service.

“I want to make a difference in someone else’s life,” she said.

To the people in Farmworker Village in Immokalee, she already has.

Three years ago, Brielle decided that she wanted to make a difference to Immokalee families. So she, fellow senior Kylen Moran and some classmates collected items to give to families in Farmworker Village for Christmas. The group called themselves “Teen Angels.”

“It was an idea that just changed and grew,” she said. “The first year we went, we had one bus and students from the Upper School participated. This year was a wonderful experience because we involved the entire school.”

Brielle said she got the idea after doing volunteer work overseas.

“When I got back here, I started thinking that the situation in Immokalee was very pronounced. They are so close to Naples, which has all of this affluent wealth. They are 50 miles away. I wanted to do something that had an impact to the community,” she said.

Although someone else will head up the project next year, Brielle said she is proud of what she has accomplished.

“After we got back from Immokalee, so many students asked me, ‘How do I become a teen angel?’ I am so happy to know that other people want to keep it alive here next year,” she said.

Brielle’s commitment to Immokalee is just one of the reasons she has been selected as The Community School of Naples’ graduate of distinction for 2008.

“It’s a big honor to be chosen,” she said.

Brielle will attend Brown University in Providence, R.I., this fall. She said she is unsure of what she plans to study, but said international relations, photojournalism and English are on the short list.

“I loved the open curriculum, that I could immerse myself in what I wanted to study. I liked that it was a place that was diverse and open,” the 18-year-old said. “I want to know what other people have to say. This is a time where I decide who I want to be and what my values are.”

Brielle, who is the daughter of Mark and Linda Friedman and has a sister, Danielle, said her mother is a big influence in her desire to give back.

“The values she taught my sister and me have had a huge impact on my life,” she said.

Although she is ready to move on, Brielle said she was also sad to be leaving the Community School.

“I had a wonderful time here,” she said.

At the Community School, Brielle is a member of the Key Club and the Model Congress, where she is a member of the Supreme Court. She is also a cheerleader, a program which she said has grown exponentially since she was a freshman.

“Our program has grown a lot, both in respect (by other students) and talent-wise,” she said. “We are a close group of girls.”

Brielle, who admits she is not the best runner, also ran track.

“I did it to get to know people,” she said. “I didn’t run before, but it pushed me out of my comfort level and I think I got a lot out of it. I had a really good time.”

Still, she does admit, there are some negatives to attending a smaller school.

“It’s great that you know everyone, but by your senior year, it can feel a little claustrophobic,” she said. “But I liked the small classes and I liked the interaction with my teachers.”

Deborah Bright, who teaches Brielle’s AP English Literature class, said Brielle is “enormously talented.”

“She writes with style as well as insight,” she said. “She is the kind of kid who stays after because she wants more information. One of the things I love about her is that she is her whole self in class. ... She lives it, she doesn’t just think about it.”

Bright said as a teacher, she often sees children who will change the world and she believes Brielle is one of those students.

“She changes my class every day. Our lives are richer because she is there,” she said. “She understands the value of learning. She is funny, she is confident.”

Brielle said she is going to miss everyone at the Community School in a different way but she urged her fellow graduates to find their own way in the world.

“All of us are going off in different directions,” she said. “And as we all decide what our lives are like, I hope everyone is open and non-judgmental to the experiences that go their way. I am going to miss them all dearly.”

Bright said Brielle will be missed.

“She is so special. She does what she does because she believes this is the way we behave as human beings. That is something we should all be emulating. She is a role mode for everyone in that respect.”

Monday: Home-schooled graduate of distinction

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories looking at some of the 2008 graduates of distinction in Southwest Florida, leading up to graduation later this month.