By Chloe Doyle | Posted Dec. 4, 2025
Two Montgomery High School students experienced the opportunity of a lifetime at the New Jersey Education Association Convention on November 6, when juniors Stella Cunha and Anuvaa Shah hosted a conversation on stage with Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai.
From left: Ava DeLeo (Lawrence Middle School) and Malala Yousafzai with Montgomery High School students Stella Cunha and Anuvaa Shah. NJEA President Steve Beatty is on the right.
NJ State Teacher of the Year Stefanie Lachenauer selected Cunha and Shah to interview Nobel laureate Yousafzai at the convention in Atlantic City.
Lachenauer teaches Global Leadership at Montgomery Upper Middle School (UMS). Cunha and Shah had shared their passions for activism while participating in her class (when they were middle schoolers).
Cunha told The Montgomery News that meeting Yousafzai was a dream come true. “It was incredibly eye-opening and an experience I’ll remember forever,” she said.
Malala Yousafzai with MHS students Stella Cunha (left) Anuvaa Shah (right).
During the NJEA event, Cunha and Shah were on stage with Yousafzai and were given the opportunity to ask two questions each.
Yousafzai, 28, is a girls’ education activist who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban at age 15. Her nonprofit Malala Fund champions girls’ education worldwide, working to secure 12 years of free, safe, and quality education for every girl by investing in local education, particularly in countries where girls face significant barriers to school. The fund supports programs aimed at removing obstacles like poverty and gender inequality, and also advocates for policy changes and public investment in education.
MHS student Anuvaa Shah said Yousafzai emphasized the value of education both inside and outside the classroom.
“Throughout the interview, [Malala] was constantly emphasizing the importance of trying new activities and different sports, talking to people who may not be in your friend group, and traveling to see different parts of the world,” Shah said.
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“She’s a real-life superhero. To meet her in person and see how humble she was, but also the fearless presence and power she carried, was absolutely unreal.”
MHS Principal Heather Pino-Beattie expressed pride and gratitude for the students’ opportunity. “We have the most amazing students at Montgomery High School, and opportunities like this highlight not only their talent but also their willingness to engage in conversations that matter.
“Experiences like the NJEA Convention don’t just give students a seat in the audience; they provide them with a voice, a platform, and a glimpse of the impact they can have beyond our walls.”
When the Taliban closed schools in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, Malala Yousafzai spoke out. As a result, she was shot in the head while riding home on a school bus in 2012, when she was 15. She is the youngest Nobel laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17, and is the only Pashtun to receive the award. Her new memoir, “Finding My Way,” is about trying to live a normal life. She reflects on making friends in college. She chronicled her childhood in her 2013 memoir, titled “I Am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban.”
