Carlson School graduate Matt Noris, co-founder of the nonprofit youth center The A-List, is one of 15 finalists in the White House's Campus Champions of Change Challenge.

Norris, a current student at the University of Minnesota Law School and exectuive director of The A-List, was nominated by fellow Carlson School graduate Asha Sharma, who co-founded the Brooklyn Park youth center in April 2011.

The challenge, launched last fall, honors students on college campuses who are helping their local communities, a Carlson School News article said.

If The A-List is voted into the top five, the organization and its co-founders will be honored at an event at The White House on March 15, be featured by mtvU and MTV Act, and host an episode of mtvU's signature program, "The Dean's List."

Norris said being a finalist is a tremendous honor for everyone involved in making the A-List what it is today.

"It has been so rewarding to see what was once a dream turn into the go-to place for teens in Brooklyn Park," he said.

Sharma and Norris met in a Carlson class and explored the needs of the community.  Over a 2 1/2 year period, they raised $500,000 for the project.  In a Minnesota Daily article published in May 2011, they said they plan to replicate the A-List model across the Twin Cities and the nation.

Online voting, which will determine the top five, runs through March 3.