Olivia Alvarez of St. John Vianney High School is the Gold Medallion recipient for the Philadelphia/New Jersey Regional Youth Award for Arts & Culture.

With a 4.26 GPA, Olivia is a member of the National Honor Society and is a New Jersey Governor’s School of the Arts Scholar. Olivia, a first-generation American of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, and says music is one of her earliest connections to the Hispanic culture, though she’s the first in her family to pursue dance. Having studied ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, point, and modern dance for 14 years, Olivia is well on her way to becoming the professional dancer/choreographer she aspires to be and hopes to combine her interest in dance with psychology or dance therapy.  Olivia has been accepted at Mullenberg College, in Pennsylvania, an institution known for its highly selective dance program and notable achievements in theater arts.