Amit Dodani has had to overcome obstacles like a childhood speech impediment to become a school leader at his high school. He's a freshman at Chaminade College Preparatory School. Amit has combined his story and those of others who've triumphed over adversity to form the My Name My Story Club and website.
"We have the four prongs: hope, believe, succeed, inspire," said Amit. "And the idea is for them to perform activities or get involved in something that fulfills four of these."
On one level, Amit wants the site to shed light on issues from bullying to drug abuse, divorce and more. But the organization also serves the community, for instance when they set out to collect books for local children's hospitals.
"We had a 'build-a-library' event where we had about 30 to 40 kids come out in this big nice hall in Calabasas, eat some food, box and sort 10,000 books," said Amit.
As a freshman, Amit has impressed with qualities well beyond his young age.
"So much energy and confidence and willingness to just get people involved. He's all about that getting people involved and being passionate about reaching out to people," said Julie LaBelle, director of student activities.
He's made plans and organized this club to continue even after his own graduation.
"The My Name My Story thing, I want it to be a legacy. It should not stop when I'm gone," said Amit. "Because of the fact it's not me helping people, it the MNMS community helping people."
Amit hopes that by sharing his and others' stories of overcoming obstacles that it will serve to motivate people in their own lives. Not only that, this Cool Kid's goal is to make sure that many more kids are inspired to conquer their own challenges.
