SERVING BEYOND CAMPUS, GUIDED BY MISSION

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May 9, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Notre Dame Prep student connects faith, scholarship and community engagement through philanthropic work.

Founded by entertainer and philanthropist Danny Thomas in 1962, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was established with a clear purpose: to advance research and treatment for children facing life-threatening diseases, particularly pediatric cancer.

The organization is recognized nationally for combining clinical care with scientific research and for helping families receive treatment regardless of their ability to pay.

For Notre Dame Prep sophomore Ellianna Stolzenfeld, that mission has become part of her own developing sense of service, leadership and responsibility.

Teachers and staff at Notre Dame Prep have taken notice.

“She’s doing wonderful things for the St. Jude Research Hospital organization and has demonstrated impressive leadership skills,” longtime school counselor Vlado Salic said.

Though one of the younger students in the upper school, Stolzenfeld already has established herself as a student whose work reflects the school’s mission in visible and meaningful ways.

Supporting the St. Jude mission

Stolzenfeld’s work supports the St. Jude affiliate program, including the organization’s presence in Oakland County.

“The funds we raise go to support the overall affiliate program,” she said. “This includes the Royal Oak location.”

Her commitment to St. Jude began through family example.

“I got involved in this program through my parents, who already are big supporters,” Stolzenfeld said.

Over time, that support developed into a deeper personal commitment informed by faith and by her experience at NDP.

“I got more passionately involved with the program through my growing faith and the Christian mission we are called to serve at NDP, which is to demonstrate God’s love by helping those in need,” she said.

Her understanding of the St. Jude organization also has been shaped by the story of its founding.

“I am thoroughly inspired by how Danny Thomas began St. Jude,” Stolzenfeld said. “For example, when he prayed to St. Jude for guidance, and said in return, he would build a shrine. I think that’s one of the things guiding me to carry out this Christian mission and help those in need.”

Living the Notre Dame Prep mission

Stolzenfeld said her work with St. Jude has helped her better understand the three dimensions of Notre Dame Prep’s mission: forming Christian persons, upright citizens and academic scholars.

“I think the mission of NDP ties into my work with St. Jude because I am learning more to be a Christian person, an upright citizen and an academic scholar,” she said.

Her service, she said, has strengthened both faith and community.

“By following the Christian part of the mission, I am growing in my faith and community with my work for St. Jude,” she said.

The experience also has connected her with peers who share a similar commitment to serving others.

“My cohort is made up of high school students like me who all joined this program for the same purpose: to help and to serve those in need,” Stolzenfeld said.

That perspective reflects an important part of the educational experience at Notre Dame Prep. Service is not treated as an activity separate from academic life. Rather, it becomes a way students apply what they learn in classrooms, on teams and within the broader community.

Balancing academics, athletics and leadership

For Stolzenfeld, philanthropic work has developed alongside a demanding academic and extracurricular schedule.

“As an academic scholar, I am learning new information about the hospital while involved in this program, but also balancing school work and sports with my fundraising work,” she said.

“A lot of time was dedicated to my fundraising, but over the years I kept it very balanced with everything else going on in my life, while keeping up with my grades.”

Before entering the upper school, Stolzenfeld attended Notre Dame Prep’s middle school for two years. Prior to that, she attended Cedar Crest Academy.

Now in the upper school, she has become deeply engaged in campus life. She competes in varsity golf and lacrosse and participates in the SADD program, or Students Against Destructive Decisions, Michigan Youth in Government and the Peer Mentor program.

“I truly love Notre Dame Prep and its mission especially,” Stolzenfeld said. “This school also has a very good environment for growth.”

Her range of involvement offers a picture of how students at Notre Dame Prep are encouraged to pursue excellence across disciplines while remaining grounded in service and character formation.

Looking ahead

Although still early in her high school career, Stolzenfeld already has begun thinking about how service may continue to shape her future.

“I would love to study international relations in college and continue my philanthropic work,” she said.

She added that she remains open to where that path may lead.

“I haven’t decided on a career yet; there are so many options from which to choose, but possibly a more professional career within international relations and government.”

For now, her work with St. Jude offers a clear example of what educators at Notre Dame Prep hope students carry forward: intellectual growth joined with moral purpose along with a willingness to use personal gifts in service to others.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.