Daniel was disheartened that schools were closed during the pandemic and children couldn’t take part in extracurricular activities or learning. He was a 7th grader when the world came to a halt, so he channeled his energy into action. 

He created iReach, a tutoring program that allowed older students to provide subject expertise to younger students. Daniel recruited high achieving students to join as tutors and paired hundreds of students together for individual and group tutoring.  iReach has provided over 5,000 tutoring hours to students of varying needs. 

With the immediate success of the tutoring program, Daniel saw an opportunity to bring those skills to summer camps.  His iReach summer initiative attracted the interest of over 20 camps, who taught a diverse selection of subjects to hundreds of campers.  

The organization has grown to include community service events like an annual trash clean up at Desert Breeze Park, to ensure the park remains a pleasant place for visitors or the Arizona Ironman triathlon, where they hand out water and snacks to the athletes. Daniel also serves on the board and executive team of the organization, gaining leadership skills that will serve in the future.  

Daniel says, “Some people underestimate the power young people have. But, they shouldn’t count us out. We have great ideas and solutions to help our community.”

In his spare time, Daniel volunteers at Banner Baywood Hospital, playing basketball and his violin. He plans to pursue a degree in STEM or medicine.