CAMARILLO : Student Recognized for Volunteer Work

After a year of acting like a troubled teen, 16-year-old Briana Hanson got her reward.

The Camarillo High School junior was given the 1990 Al Jalaty Youth Recognition Award for her volunteer work at Interface: Children, Family Services of Ventura County.

Hanson acted like a troubled teen in a public service television commercial for the agency that aired on KNBC-TV Channel 4 last year.

She also posed as a troubled youth for Interface’s brochure.

Hanson also volunteered her time to keep children entertained while their parents attended a parent training class.

She said she divides her free time between volunteering at least a couple of hours a week, playing varsity soccer and working part time.

“When I volunteer, I really feel like I’m helping people and that makes me happy,” said Hanson, who has contributed her time to the Child Abuse Program and to Interface, a Ventura County nonprofit human services agency.

“There have been times when the kids all gang up on me and wrestle me to the ground and sometimes they’ll scream and run around, but I like taking care of them,” she said.

“I know if no one was there to baby-sit, the parents couldn’t attend the class and they wouldn’t get the help they need,” she said. “So I’m glad I have a part in helping.”