Mercer Island resident Maddy Pollastro, a senior at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, will address 1,500 people during the Challenge Success conference hosted by Stanford University on Sept. 28.

The Challenge Success program helps schools address the concern that children and adolescents often compromise their mental and physical health as they contend with performance pressure in and out of school.

As a student advocate, Maddy attended two sessions at Stanford University, and along with another classmate, created a Challenge Success Club at Forest Ridge where students share ideas and discuss ways to reduce stress. As a result of Challenge Success, Forest Ridge implemented several changes to help eliminate student pressure, including a schedule change that will begin this fall.

To find out more, visit www.challengesuccess.org.