Junior Henry Young can most often be spotted at Liberty with a smile on his face and his Chromebook in hand, greeting every teacher with a kind, ‘Hello, how are you today? It’s nice to see you’, as he makes his way to class. He arrives at Liberty at sixth hour as a result of his enrollment in the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) Global Business and Entrepreneurship program, where he works on his passion for business. But regardless of where Young can be found, he can be found with his signature cheery demeanor that continuously inspires others at Liberty.

“[The secret] is learning every day and living for my passion and what makes me fulfilled. I love people and when I’m able to see people happy and see them in a way that is upbeat, I am also very happy,” Young said about the secret behind his upbeat personality. “I’m in Link Crew currently and Mr. Eversole always says, ‘The one little thing you can do each day to make people happier or someone who’s having a bad day, happier, that makes all the difference.’ And that’s big in my life.”

And Mr. Eversole can attest to his character as well, saying, “Henry is one of the kindest and most thoughtful students I have ever met. He is always willing to learn from the experiences of others, and I’ve had a lot of in-depth conversations with him about how and why certain experiences are important to individuals and groups of people.”

But it takes a lot more than just a doctrine to live by, to inspire a person into a life defined by kindness and contribution. Young’s inspiration is derived by many different sources that in turn, help him inspire others.

“My aunt is a huge inspiration of mine, my aunt and my late uncle and those two are [my inspirations] because they really paved the way for me in my early childhood,” Young said. “They really showed me how to be kind, they made sure that I was constantly learning soft skills and communication skills at a very young age. And they’re like my second set of parents, they’ve always been there for me and wanted to make sure I was okay, but also taught me how to do that for others as well. My aunt always teaches me to give, contribution and those are the biggest things that we can do in life.”

Although he may not be currently enrolled in any of her classes, Young makes sure to talk to Ms. Pizzo every day.

“He listens with both ears and looks genuinely interested in you as a human being,” Pizzo said of Young. “I love being around him because he makes you feel valued.”

Those who know Young know that his passion for entrepreneurship and business weigh heavily in his life and inspire his love for contribution in addition to his familial inspirations.

“In non-family inspirations, there have to be many successful people out there that have done good for others. So for non-family inspirations, I have to say Bill Gates comes to mind and also success author, Tony Robbins. Those two right there are two of my biggest inspirations,” Young said. “I listen to them on a daily basis, see how they contribute to the world with what Bill Gates does for Africa and what Tony Robbins does for millions, billions of people around the world, to help give back.”

Aside from his passion for contribution, in the future, Young hopes to earn his bachelors and MBA in international business and start a company that specializes in financial services or artificial intelligence technology.

Either way, Henry Young is on his way to bigger and brighter ventures beyond Liberty through simple, everyday acts of kindness and his passion for helping others.