By Rebecca Rosen Lum, San Mateo Patch (www.sanmateo.patch.com)

San Mateo student Hanna Malak was staring finals in the face when a regional Red Cross chair encouraged him to apply for a three-year term on the organization’s National Youth Council.

“It wasn’t the best timing, a week before finals,” he said, chuckling. “I had to write essays, I had to get letters of recommendation, there were all these applications to fill out.” He was grilled in multiple rounds of interviews with sitting leaders.

Malak, a senior at Menlo College in Atherton, won the seat in a competitive process that drew a record number of applicants.

“I’m busy, but there’s always room for more,” said Malak, a business major who competes on the school’s wrestling team and works part time at Café Borrone.

The Serra High School grad began working with the Red Cross through the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics college leadership program, one of 14 student athletes tasked with drawing together a new and diverse generation of volunteers and leaders.

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