At Vibe, we believe leadership starts with compassion, connection, and a willingness to make a difference in the lives of others.
Through our annual scholarship program, we’re proud to recognize graduating Vibe members who are already creating meaningful impact within their communities while pursuing their educational goals.
Meet Taelyn Freise, one of our 2026 Vibe Scholarship recipients.
For Taelyn, meaningful service begins with something simple: making people feel seen.
As a member of her FIRST Robotics team, Taelyn regularly participated in community outreach events, including early Saturday mornings packing food bags for PBJ Outreach. At first, the work felt routine, efficient, and easy to check off a list.
But one conversation changed her perspective completely.
During one of the packing events, an organizer asked why the team never stayed to help distribute meals in downtown Detroit. She explained that for many individuals they served, the food mattered, but the human connection mattered just as much. Sometimes a conversation, a smile, or simply being acknowledged could make someone feel valued in a way that lasted far beyond a meal.
That moment stayed with Taelyn.
She realized the team was missing the most meaningful part of the experience, so she stepped up to make a change. After bringing the idea to her robotics team leadership, she helped organize transportation, coordinate volunteers, and transform the outreach effort into a more hands-on experience where students could directly connect with the people they were serving.
What began as a 30-minute volunteer event became something much deeper.
Taelyn watched conversations form between teammates and community members, creating moments of dignity, connection, and understanding that impacted everyone involved. Through those experiences, she learned that elevating a community is not always about large-scale change. Sometimes, it begins one conversation at a time.
That same mindset carried into her work as a founding member of her school’s Hope Squad, a peer suicide prevention program focused on supporting students’ mental health and emotional well-being. Through initiatives like Mental Health Awareness Week, Taelyn worked to create an environment where students felt supported, encouraged, and comfortable asking for help when they needed it.
Whether mentoring teammates, supporting classmates, or serving the Detroit community, Taelyn has consistently focused on helping others feel heard and valued.
This fall, she will attend Wayne State University to study nursing, bringing with her a passion for compassionate care and meaningful connection. Her experiences have reinforced a belief she plans to carry into every future interaction: people deserve not only support, but dignity, empathy, and the feeling that someone truly sees them.