Having been involved with student government at Bothell High for three years, Karina Woodruff decided the group could go beyond planning pep rallies and dances.

Last year, having become aware of the issue through a church youth group, Woodruff decided to make raising awareness regarding human trafficking the Associated Student Body (ASB) project for last year.

“When I learned there are 27 million slaves around the world, I was shocked,” said Woodruff, who will graduate at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Washington.

Through talks during basketball games, through assemblies and other activities, Woodruff and the ASB not only raised awareness of the issue locally, they also took in $1,000 they donated to the International Justice Mission, a group fighting slavery worldwide.

“This year, I felt it was really important that we take on another cause,” Woodruff said.

To find that cause, Woodruff, as Bothell’s ASB president for the current school year, looked a lot closer to home.

On April 10, 2008, Bothell student Ryan DePuy died at 17 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

“He was a classmate of mine,” Woodruff said. “Not necessarily a friend, but someone I knew.”

His death convinced her that fighting drug and alcohol abuse was the appropriate cause for the ASB this year.

“I knew our school would never be the same place when he passed away,” Woodruff said.

The ASB ended up partnering with Ryan’s father, Scott DePuy, who had founded the Ryan’s Solution Foundation in honor of his son. With Scott DePuy often serving as the keynote speaker, the ASB put together various awareness-raising activities from three assemblies to “Free to Live” basketball games. They held a faculty event and a parents night that drew a crowd of about 150 from across the Northshore School District. A benefit concert raised money for the Ryan’s Solution Foundation.

“We feel we reached the majority of the school and we did make a difference,” Woodruff said.

Besides being heavily involved with her school, Woodruff is a highly active member of Bothell’s Eastside Four Square Baptist Church. She’s been part of the youth leadership there for six years. During that time, she’s gone on four mission trips: two in Mexico and one to Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. She recently co-led a trip to Thailand, an effort that turned into her senior project.

During that most recent expedition, Woodruff helped teach English at a refugee camp and visited several villages.

“We just tried to meet as many needs as possible in a short amount of time,” Woodruff said, adding she unfortunately saw in person evidence of the human trafficking she really didn’t know existed before last year.

At 18, Woodruff has no doubts about her future. Mom Angela Woodruff is Brazilian and the family has spent extended periods of time in that country every year.

“I grew up seeing the amount of poverty and sadness there,” said Karina Woodruff, who added she is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Next year, Woodruff plans to attend Northwest University in Kirkland, intending to become a youth minister and eventually working in her mom’s native Brazil.

“I just feel called to do that,” she said. “I just want to make an impact.”

Woodruff already has made an impact at Bothell High. The incoming ASB membership wants to continue the tradition Woodruff started of picking a cause and spending a year working on that cause. When school starts next fall, expect to hear lots about suicide prevention.

“It’s all about the people we’re educating,” Woodruff said.