AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts student majoring in sociology, Prachi Dayal regularly interacts with survivors of domestic violence as a legal intern at Safe Passage in Northampton, talking to these individuals and ensuring they and their families get the help they need.

When not assisting attorneys with these cases or applying for grants to support Safe Passage’s mission, Dayal is employed at the after-school program at Crocker Farm School in Amherst, planning activities for children and hanging out with them.

“They are really good kids. It’s a relaxing job,” Dayal says.

It is this intersection between the welfare of children and domestic violence, and drawing on her experience working with the state Department of Children and Families and being in a state residential program as a teenager, that motivates Dayal.

“I was in the system and doing a lot of things on my own,” says Dayal, who dropped out of high school and has largely thrived on her own independence. “I do try to ensure I do what need to do and anything that will help kids who are navigating the legal system.”

Her work is earning 19-year-old Dayal, a resident of Amherst who grew up in Middlesex County, the annual Young Community Leader Award. The ninth recipient, Dayal was honored at an awards ceremony held during the United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region’s annual meeting at the Look Park Garden House on Thursday.

The Young Community Leader Award honors a person between the ages of 15 and 22 who lives in Hampshire or Franklin County and has contributed to the community through volunteerism or other community involvement, such as civic engagement or public participation. The award, which debuted in 2017, comes with a $500 check, half of which will be donated to a charity of his choice. It is awarded in partnership with the United Way.

At Thursday’s ceremony, Dayal thanked her friends, mentors, family and the children she gets to work with. She added, “Thank you for this recognition. Thank you for seeing something in me that I don’t fully see in myself,” she said. “It really means more to me than I can ever express.”

Dayal, who anticipates earning her bachelor’s degree later this year, said it is remarkable where she is after many of the other youths she knew ended up living on the streets or serving time in jail.

“It shows that the work I’m doing, it does really create a great impact on the community, and that people notice that,” Dayal said. “I appreciate being recognized as being a foundation for them.”

Dayal’s nomination came from Edie Ellin of Northampton, a community volunteer for the Friends of Children’s FOCUS program, which ensures young people who have left the foster care system without family have the support they need.

Ellin, who has mentored Dayal, said her mentee has taken up mostly paid, rather than volunteer jobs, necessary to support herself and learn “how to adult.” She has found Dayal very driven.

“I thought Prachi is amazing for the things she’s done,” Ellin said. “This is a young woman who is making her way.”

Ellin also recognizes Dayal’s interest in social work and welfare and that she aspires to go to law school at some point in the near future.

Ellin notes that Dayal recently needed a car to get to Springfield to work for the Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division, which provides legal representation for those under 18. So she took on another job washing dishes at UMass.

Prior to moving to the area and the need to support herself financially, Dayal had served as a peer tutor at Middlesex Community College in Lowell and as a youth leader at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell.

She has started studying for the LSATs, and doesn’t want to put off going to law school for too long so she can eventually become an attorney working with foster children. “My broader goal is to work in the area of juvenile law,” Dayal said.

Despite all her obligations to work and school, Dayal has also found some spare time, such as meeting up with a group of people at the Jones Library in Amherst crocheting hats that were donated to the Amherst Survival Center.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.