Winchester's Emily Joslin is among 36 people who have made it into the final stages of the Whitbread Young Achievers' Awards.
Their aim is to celebrate the achievements of young people who have "really made a difference" with their community, environment or sport achievements.
Emily was nominated by Helen Willard on behalf of the the Prince's Trust for her work in improving the care system and for her own personal development after a troubled childhood - a lot of it spent in care.
For the last two years, Emily has been working as a member of the care action team - a group of young people who have all been in care.
She has trained social workers and teachers on how best to support those in the care system and given talks to MPs on what it's like to be in care.
"Emily's commitment to now supporting others, who have been in the same situation as her, is humbling," said Helen.
Emily (23), who is now happily married with a son, Brandon, is studying for a science degree with the Open University.
She will have to wait until the end of this month to find out whether she has made it onto the final shortlist. If she doesn't, she will still receive Whitbread leisure vouchers worth £100.
The overall winner in each category will be announced at a special awards lunch in London in June 2003, where they will receive £2,500 for personal and project development, £250 in leisure vouchers and 12 months' follow-up support.
Three runners-up in each category will all receive £250 cash and £250 worth of Leisure Vouchers.
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