Class Act:
Madison Marilla
Nominated by:
Jenny Marilla
Nomination Story:
Madison Marilla, who is a mainstreamed Junior at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School, has High-Functioning Autism. She has worked extremely hard for most of her life to overcome the many obstacles and challenges associated with this disorder. As a result, she has embraced her Autism in a powerful way by creating awareness throughout the student body at her high school. She started the Autism Awareness Club this past Fall and is the leader of the group with 15 members. On National Autism Awareness Day, April 2nd, Madison’s club will set up tables during the lunches where puzzle piece (symbol for Autism) pins and rubber band bracelets as well as educational flyers about the disorder will be handed out to any and all of the 1,650 students at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School. This will be the second year she has led this event and the outpouring of support from the students and the Sudbury Community was phenomenal, and she was recognized last year with a front page article in the Sudbury Town Crier. Additionally, Madison has become a formal mentor for younger autistic children through the Aspirations Program and through word of mouth. For this reason, I am nominating Madison as a ClassAct for not only embracing her Autism and working hard to overcome her challenges, but also becoming a passionate advocate and leader in helping other young people with Autism grow, develop, and feel a sense of purpose.