2020 Isabelle Pardue

Isabelle Pardue writes, “I may not know exactly what my future entails, but one thing is certain, I’ll be working to change the lives of millions of people worldwide affected by mental disorders. My vision is to combine the missions of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness with the awarding of grants that contribute to scientific breakthroughs.”  Isabelle created an online business called “Happicases” selling phone cases with positive messages and quotes on them.  She gave a percentage of the proceeds to Region Ten, which serves thousands of local people experiencing mental health or substance abuse challenges. 

Isabelle is also concerned about the emotional wellbeing of young women who are troubled about body image.  She tackled that subject through her science fair project, where she sought to prove that you don’t need to look perfect to be beautiful. Others warned her she’d never make regionals with her topic, but she made it all the way to the science fair nationals.  She took special pleasure proving to herself that passion and dedication can overcome nearly anything. She has college acceptance offers from Colgate, the University of Richmond, the University of Virginia, and Davidson and her interests include the study of economics, physics and neuroscience.