Josh Schott was 14 when he first learned about the conflict in Darfur.

He was horrified by what he read about the genocide in western Sudan and wanted to do something to help people there. But Schott was only an eighth-grader.

In the 10th grade, he took action.

That’s the year he got permission to form STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition, at Whitefish High School. By his junior year, the club was up and running.

The group focuses its efforts on three areas: raising awareness, raising money and lobbying for changes in government policy, said Schott, now 18.

Increasing public knowledge of genocide all over the world, not just Sudan, is STAND’s primary focus, he said. To that end, the club has hosted several films and made presentations about the conflict and about socially responsible investing.

Investors can choose to put their money in companies that don’t support the Sudanese government, which has driven the genocide in Darfur, Schott explained.

In 2009, Schott helped write a bill that would have required the state of Montana divest its funds from companies that do business with Sudan.

Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, sponsored the bill, which was written by STAND and Whitefish High’s Young Democrats — another club Schott founded.

“I don’t believe in political parties, but we needed a label to show what issues we advocate,” he said.

Those issues include abortion, health care, gay rights and other social issues, Schott said.

As a representative of Young Democrats and STAND, Schott testified before the House Appropriations Committee in Helena in support of House Bill 619.

He didn’t get the response he’d hoped for.

The legislators’ attitude was, “Good for you for doing this, but we’re not listening to you anyway,” he said.

The bill never made it out of committee, but legislators can expect to see it again during their next session.

“The STAND group will be working to get that passed,” Schott said.

That he is just a teenager in a small town half a world away from the conflict doesn’t seem to matter to Schott.

“There are many things wrong with the world. Genocide is a huge one,” he said. “There are problems here I could be working on, but I want to spend my time on what’s most needed.

“I feel driven to work for others.”

That drive, he said, stems from the way he was raised. His mother, Sandy, volunteers “in a lot of areas” and her son is following in her footsteps.

In addition to STAND and Young Democrats, Schott helped found the Environmental Club at the high school.

“We work on trying to get our school to be as green as possible,” he said.

The club has sponsored alternative transportation week, has tried to convince teachers with windows and daylight in their classrooms to use electric lights less often and has helped start a recycling program at the high school.

Club members also held a fundraiser for a program through The Nature Conservancy that plants one tree for $1 in the Brazilian rainforest. Whitefish High raised $350, enough for 350 trees.

His love for the outdoors drove Schott to volunteer for the Flathead-Kootenai Chapter of the Montana Wilderness Association. He is a board member for the association this year.

Some of his other activities look more typical of a high-school student. Schott is a National Honor Society member and student body president. He played baseball and competed in speech and debate.

But trying to make the world a better place is Schott’s passion. Come fall, he’ll start school at Stanford University, where he will major in international relations. Eventually he wants to be humanitarian aid relief worker in a war-torn country in Africa or the Middle East.

“I don’t feel right just concentrating on me. There’s something outside of myself,” he said. “If people weren’t motivated by self-interest, the world would be quite different.”

Graduation details:

Whitefish High School

127 graduates

Graduation 1 p.m.

Saturday, June 5

Whitefish High gymnasium

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.