* Name: Alana Murray, 17, of Columbia.
* School: Mount Hebron High School.
* Why Alana was chosen: Alana is president of Mount Hebron's Black Awareness Club, vice president of the Howard County Association of Student Councils, and parliamentarian for the Black Student Achievement Program and Maryland Association of Student Councils. She is also involved in the Maryland Leadership Workshop, geared toward 13- to 18-year-olds. The program is designed to raise students' self-esteem by developing their leadership skills.
* Alana's comments: "We need to raise the expectation of black students, or they'll continue to have low GPAs. Once expectations change, test scores will rise and the suspension rate will fall."
* Alana's goals: She wants to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, where she plans to become a teacher and educational philosopher.