DAPHNE, Ala. — Jackie Pober Citrin, 17, was one of 43 rising high school seniors from around the country selected to participate for three weeks this summer in the Youth Theological Scholars Program at Emory University. 

Citrin — a teen columnist with the Daphne Bulletin, in fair disclosure — experienced different forms of worship within the student community and in different religious communities around Altanta.  She was accepted into the program — funded by the Lilly Endowment — based on a strong academic record, a curiosity about the relationship between theology and public issues and a committment to serving the public good through reflection and action, according to a news release. 

Citrin has also been granted a scholarship to participate in the upcoming three-day leadership conference at Emory called, “Re-envisioning Leadership for a Hope-Filled Future” and featuring Marian Wright Edelman. Edelman was founder of the Children's Defense fund as a voice for poor, mininority and handicapped children.