For most, high school is a time for students to find their passions and develop their dreams, inside and outside of the classroom. For senior Greg Oyan, his passion lay in the heart of Sierra Leone, Africa.

“I have a heart for Africa, Sierra Leone, and the people in that country, and I have aspirations to help those in need in whatever ways I can,” Oyan said.

For his Hero Project, Oyan is sending supplies to a school in Sierra Leone. He may also have the opportunity to travel to the school this spring, during his third trip to Sierra Leone.

“One cool aspect about the project is that it crosses continental lines, and I might have the opportunity to actually follow school supplies from Ventura all the way across two oceans to Sierra Leone,” Oyan said.

Oyan chose the project after wise counsel from two prominent adults in his life.

This is his second project idea since the Hero Project launch, and he is well aware of the risks still at stake.

“As of right now, I’m still in the planning phase and the beginning stages of the organizational phase,” he said. “I am still trying to get everything in place so that I would be able to adapt to any sort of adversity should it arise in the project process.”

Oyan realizes that as a college student next year, it would be unrealistic to continue this specific project idea. However, he still plans to use his time to reach out in one way or another to the less fortunate.

“Last year on my trip to Sierra Leone, when kids received some school supplies they were confused in regards with what they should do with the supplies they received. They didn’t even know what to do with paper,” he said.