A Northeast Philadelphia teenager has been named a winner of the National Liberty Museum’s TD Bank Young Heroes Award, which this year is recognizing 14 young citizens for championing liberty and making positive changes in their schools and communities.
Ryan Snyder, 17, is being recognized for founding a gay-straight alliance at his school, The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, in 2016. By 2017, the alliance had become the biggest in the city.
Snyder has since helped other schools establish their own GSAs and reached out to city officials to ensure LGBTQ safety and inclusivity within Philadelphia schools. He has also raised around $2,000 for the Trevor Project.
“One thing that I was fortunate about was that my school was really accepting,” Snyder said about his activism. “So immediately I had supporting staff and friends, which was helpful in reaching out to different organizations in Philadelphia.”
Ryan added it’s more important than ever to support and maintain GSAs.
“Obviously with the times changing, it’s more vital now, but it’s always been a super-important part of high-school life or even college life,” he said. “There have always been kids who have been coming out that have been rejected by their families or haven’t been sure about who they are. GSAs are a place to come together with kids who are just like you and explore what it’s like to be in a supportive environment.”
With college on the horizon, Synder said he’s already started making plans to keep the GSA going at his high school after he leaves.
“We were fortunate to identify someone to take over next year,” he said. “My main goal would be, since I’m starting college next year, to found another group of students at Temple University, where I’m going, to go out to high schools and middle schools and whoever else is interested, to help them start their own GSAs to give them a home away from home where they can get a bigger sense of community in their school environment.”