A Manasquan High School student has made waves for her work in the community to help others.

Lila Schmidt, a surfer, was the 2024 recipient of the Be A Ripple Leadership Award.

Schmidt was honored by the OisF (The Ocean is Female), a nonprofit that fosters kindness and strength in girls to support and empower survivors of abuse through ocean activities.

A junior at the school, Schmidt is also a dance instructor and fundraiser for Big Hearts to Little Hearts, which helped to raise over $1 million for the pediatric cardiac care unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.