Anika Barlow believes that if you expect more out of youth, they will do more.

She and her classmates proved that last year when the Highland Secondary School Class of 2010 raised $13,000 in their 鈥�10 for 10 legacy project 鈥� enough money to send 10 Ugandan teens to high school for four years.

Barlow, the 鈥�10 for 10 project organizer, is one of eight leaders under the age of 30 from across B.C. who are being recognized by the B.C. Council for International Co-operation (BCCIC) as global citizens and models of civic engagement.

The 18-year-old is passionate about inspiring young people to set high expectations for themselves and to live out their full potential.

鈥淚 think so often, young people these days, there鈥檚 not a lot expected of us,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to live up to expectations ... if people expect more of us, and we expect more of ourselves, we鈥檙e going to reach those expectations. What my grad class did last year really raised the bar ... Maybe people think they can鈥檛 accomplish a lot because they鈥檙e working alone, but I think working together is the way we can reach these expectations.鈥�

Barlow is making a difference in the field of education 鈥� in Uganda, by raising funds to put 10 young people through secondary school and in her own former high school by teaching her classmates about how much potential they have to impact world issues.

Barlow first became involved in international development issues in Grade 10, when she joined the Interact Club at Highland.

Attending the Red Cross Global Issues Symposium for Youth in Grade 12 was a turning point, and it inspired Barlow to initiate the 鈥�10 for 10 project.

Barlow is currently working for Africa Community Technical Service (ACTS) in Comox, with which she has been volunteering for several years.

She will travel to India in March for five and a half months, and she plans to study international development in university this September.

In India, Barlow will spend time with her parents鈥� friends and volunteer with Youth With A Mission.

The BCCIC is profiling Barlow and the other seven young leaders through videos, podcasts and written profiles, which can be seen online at www.bccic.ca.

The profiles are part of International Development Week Feb. 6 to 12, a campaign that highlights the work of Canada鈥檚 development community.

This year鈥檚 theme is I Am Making a Difference, and the goal of the project is to use the stories of these eight young leaders to inspire Canadians of all ages to spring into local and global action on issues of social justice, according to a press release.

Barlow was surprised to hear she鈥檇 been recognized by the BCCIC.

鈥淚 knew I had been nominated, but I didn鈥檛 really think anything of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 kind of forgotten about it. It was a huge surprise.鈥�

It means a lot to Barlow to have been recognized and to be able to inspire others.

鈥淚t was interesting 鈥� having that opportunity made me really reflect on what had happened over the school year,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t made me really thankful for all the people who were involved and made me really think about what a big thing we did ... It was strange I was recognized because I was such a tiny part of it. Having more people see what we did as a grad class, maybe that鈥檒l encourage more people to do the same.鈥�

writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com