After being gifted a car from an organization as a child, which allowed his mom to work and him to attend school, Ezra knew from a young age that he wanted to continue the gift of giving. Oluwadamilare Ezra Lawal is a senior at Hiram High School.
At 15, Ezra founded ShockResQ, a disaster relief nonprofit organization. Since its founding, he has led sneaker drives across Paulding County, reaching more than 7,000 students and collecting $3,400 worth of used sneakers. These drives have kept 2,670 pounds of carbon dioxide out of landfills and prevented over 200,000 gallons of water from pollution, with the sneakers being repurposed and given new life in developing countries. His organization has also donated more than $1,000 worth of emergency kits and disaster preparedness items. Beyond the sneaker drives, ShockResQ has partnered with several businesses and individuals, including a Roblox YouTuber. Through this partnership, ShockResQ hosted a raffle that helped raise more than $10,800 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Beyond his nonprofit work, Ezra has taken on other leadership and service roles. While serving on the State School Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council with Richard Woods, he founded Project Recolor, a service initiative that has donated over 1,000 handmade coloring booklets to elementary students in Paulding County. He is also active in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Sources of Strength, WellStar’s VolunTeen Program, and other activities that continue to expand his leadership and service.
Academically, Ezra is highly driven. He has taken a variety of Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses, which led to his acceptance into Georgia’s Governor’s Honors Program. There, he took advanced coursework in Communicative Arts, where he strengthened his skills in research, critical thinking, collaboration, and public speaking while working with peers from across the state in a highly selective academic program.
Ezra hopes to continue making a difference in the future as a physician, serving those in need, just as he was helped as a young boy.