Juanita Collins is no ordinary teenager, she’s a Coast Guard daughter, & due to hard work and dedication she has been presented with the 2014 Coast Guard Military Child of the Year award at the sixth annual Operation Homefront gala at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.
Class president, varsity volleyball captain, athlete-scholar, 'A Capella' singer, hospice volunteer and Sunday school teacher, Juanita has worked on projects with the Key Club, Relay for Life, food banks, Ronald McDonald House and Salvation Army. Amongst this dizzying array of school, athletic and volunteer activities, Juanita maintains a 4.5 cumulative weighted GPA. That’s a lot of responsibility for any person, not to mention a teenager.
Juanita has learned a lot about service to both community and nation as the daughter of a Coast Guard chief petty officer. “Juanita has a heart to serve,” said Chief Petty Officer Tafaoga Collins, Juanita’s mother. “I see in her that she has a heart to serve others and make a difference when she can.”
Tafaoga, a member of Air Station Clearwater, is a very proud mother. She has seen Juanita receive the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for Pinellas County in 2013 in addition to Juanita’s selection as a member of the Ryan Nece Foundation from both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
From a pool of nearly 1,000 nominees, each award recipient was chosen by a committee including active duty and retired military personnel, spouses of senior military leaders, veteran service organization leadership, teachers and community members. In addition to a trip to our nation's capital, recipients are awarded a laptop and a $5,000 cash prize.
Currently a senior, Juanita has been accepted to the University of Tampa, and has applied to UCLA. Her dream is to become a pediatrician. As she prepares for the next steps in her life, she finds inspiration in her mother.