One winter afternoon, Shailen Fofaria walks through New York City, taking in the sights and joking about designer clothes with his close friend and fellow Enloe senior, Adam Hammoud. They stop at a local pizza shop for a snack; Hammoud insists he can buy his own slice, but Shailen insists on paying as a gift. That’s just who he is.

Another afternoon, he stands on the TEDx stage in Raleigh, speaking out against societal stigma around menstruation and the importance of youth advocacy. 

This is the plurality of Shailen. One day, he’s an entrepreneur, serving as a chief operating officer for a startup providing affordable pads that detect cervical diseases. Another day, he’s a scholar, juggling countless AP classes and standardized tests. Another day, he’s an advocate, doing international and global affairs work for the United Nations. Another day, he’s a friend, writing entire essays telling the people closest to him how awesome they are.

For Shailen, this balancing act has been a massive learning experience. “Yeah, I can’t even explain the immense growth that I’ve gone through the past couple years professionally. Learning how to communicate with those in the field, learning to network, learning to use my connections, realizing what it means to do hard work,” he says.

Hard work might be an understatement. Throughout his four years at Enloe, Shailen co-founded Sensible, a startup creating potentially life-saving pads which detect cervical diseases for menstruating people. The Sensible team was one of ten selected in the nation to earn the Lemelson MIT Program student prize, which provides $7500 grants every year to student inventors, and traveled to Cambridge, Mass., to receive the honor.

As student body president, Shailen helped raise over $214,000 this year for Note in the Pocket, a Raleigh-based nonprofit dedicated to providing clothing for economically disadvantaged and unhoused children and families in North Carolina.

Furthermore, Shailen serves as the student board chair for Youth Ambassadors of Service, a nonprofit he says is dedicated to “mobiliz[ing] students to impact their community past one-time volunteerism.”

“He brings a lot of impact to the community wherever he goes,” comments Adam, one of Shailen’s closest confidants, courtesy of a Spanish class they’ve shared for all four years of high school. 

But Adam attests that this impact is just as strong on the personal level as it is in the community: “We all know the things he’s done in his community. Like, he’s worked with multiple nonprofits. He’s made change through the Enloe Charity Ball. But beyond that, beyond just his ECs [extracurriculars], I think a really big thing when you’re talking to Shailen is that he makes you feel welcome. Like, if I was a shy person, I would not feel shy around Shailen.” 

“I am so, like, astounded by him,” agrees Noe Roark, another close friend of Shailen’s. “He’s constantly doing something for someone else. Like, for every single one of his friends’ birthdays, he writes out a whole essay about how much he values their friendship and how much he loves them, and then he’ll stay up until midnight to send it to you … and every single Valentine’s day, he buys his mom flowers. I think that’s really cute.”

Shailen considers his advocacy just as important as his actions. During Thanksgiving break in 2024, Shailen applied to give a TEDx talk on his work with Sensible and the importance of reducing the stigma around menstruation and female healthcare. “I got paired with a mentor, and it was really amazing to just kind of work and have a space where I got to talk about what I wanted to,” says Shailen. Even though his speech required intense preparation, including on the day of Enloe Prom in 2025, Shailen put in the work to make sure his voice was heard on an issue important to him.

“At the beginning, when I was growing up, my dad always pushed me, saying service comes first. So when I came into freshman year, I was really looking forward to finding things that could make me a better human in my community,” comments Shailen, explaining what motivated him to put so much time and effort into his community service.

He’s also pushed by a continued passion for making positive change wherever he can. “I really like to harp on that word passion,” notes Shailen, “because that’s what I’ve kind of realized these past four years is what drives me.”

Shailen is hoping to earn a degree in political science and eventually attend law school. But no matter how his path shifts, he won’t regret the work he put into his community. “No matter what happens with college or anything these past four years, I’m so grateful for these experiences,” he says. “I’ve felt throughout these past four years immense pride for the school I go to. I really love Enloe.” Wherever Shailen’s journey takes him, The Eagle’s Eye wishes him the best of luck.