Theodore Caputi
Youth President

Theodore Caputi, a senior at Council Rock High School North in Newtown, PA, is passionate about empowering students to become productive and healthy members of their communities. Theodore works to engage teens in constructive activities in his school, his community, and his country.
Realizing that teenagers often feel overwhelmed by peer pressure, the demands of school, and low self-esteem, Theodore works as an advocate for teen success.
Beginning in 10th grade, Theodore became the editor-in-chief of his high school’s literary magazine, the Rock Reverb to give his classmates an outlet for expression in creative writing and artwork. In 2012, Theodore, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania School Press Association, started The PALM, a state-wide literary magazine in hopes of encouraging greater participation from schools across Pennsylvania.
Theodore also serves as the chair of his high school’s Diversity Advisory Committee (The DAC). The DAC promotes understanding and acceptance among students through school-wide events, including a “Diversity Day” fair, which Theodore started in 2010. Theodore now serves as the Youth President of the National Association of Youth Diversity Councils, a program of the National Diversity Council that helps high schools develop student-run diversity programs. Theodore hopes that strong diversity programs in schools will encourage students to become more open-minded and ultimately able to consider alternative perspectives in their decision-making.
In his community, Theodore founded and currently runs a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called the Student Leader Union (SLU). The SLU is devoted to the advancement of student leadership and offers leadership training and opportunities to middle and high school students. The work performed by the SLU is based on a theoretical framework for problem behavior prevention that Theodore researched while working at the Treatment Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based drug-and-alcohol research concern. The framework suggests that leadership education may enhance the personality traits that are known to prevent problem behaviors among adolescents.
Theodore resides in Upper Makefield, PA. He will attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania starting in fall of 2013.
Realizing that teenagers often feel overwhelmed by peer pressure, the demands of school, and low self-esteem, Theodore works as an advocate for teen success.
Beginning in 10th grade, Theodore became the editor-in-chief of his high school’s literary magazine, the Rock Reverb to give his classmates an outlet for expression in creative writing and artwork. In 2012, Theodore, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania School Press Association, started The PALM, a state-wide literary magazine in hopes of encouraging greater participation from schools across Pennsylvania.
Theodore also serves as the chair of his high school’s Diversity Advisory Committee (The DAC). The DAC promotes understanding and acceptance among students through school-wide events, including a “Diversity Day” fair, which Theodore started in 2010. Theodore now serves as the Youth President of the National Association of Youth Diversity Councils, a program of the National Diversity Council that helps high schools develop student-run diversity programs. Theodore hopes that strong diversity programs in schools will encourage students to become more open-minded and ultimately able to consider alternative perspectives in their decision-making.
In his community, Theodore founded and currently runs a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called the Student Leader Union (SLU). The SLU is devoted to the advancement of student leadership and offers leadership training and opportunities to middle and high school students. The work performed by the SLU is based on a theoretical framework for problem behavior prevention that Theodore researched while working at the Treatment Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based drug-and-alcohol research concern. The framework suggests that leadership education may enhance the personality traits that are known to prevent problem behaviors among adolescents.
Theodore resides in Upper Makefield, PA. He will attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania starting in fall of 2013.