Area students earn Red Wagon Awards

• Red Wagon Award winners

This year’s local Red Wagon Award winners pose at the Governor’s mansion. Pictured from left to right are Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, students Jared Mitchell, Anna Sauer, Apoman Abella, Susana Murillo, Fayise Abrahim, and Nobles County Integration Collaborative Coordinator Sharon Johnson. (Submitted photo)

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WORTHINGTON — Five area students were among those honored at the governor’s mansion last week as recipients of the Red Wagon Award.

The award is given by the Minnesota Alliance With Youth to recognize young people who have demonstrated increased academic achievement, civic engagement and service and exemplary leadership.

The students were nominated by the Nobles County Integration Collaborative, and are all involved in at least one of the collaborative’s programs.

“The overriding part that connects them all is their level of dedication, whether to academics or to the community or to NCIC, they just have this inner drive to succeed and that really sets them apart in some ways,” explained Carrie Adams, the youth coordinator at NCIC. She said this year marked the most recipients from the area that ever won the award. Last year, three from the collaborative were honored.

“I was pretty happy,” said Apoman Abella, a sophomore at Worthington High School and one of the recipients. Abella is involved in Dynamic 507, Youth Diversity Corps and Six Steps Hip Hop through the NCIC.

As for the trip to the governor’s mansion, she said “I thought it was going to be totally different. I didn’t know there was going to be butlers around and stuff.”

Recipient Susana Murillo, a senior at Worthington High School, said she was honored to receive the award.

“I was really excited. I was, like, jumping up and down,” she reported. Murillo has volunteered more than 100 hours and worked with Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Dynamic 507 at the collaborative and Circle Mentoring with other students.

Other recipients include Anna Sauer of Lismore, Jared Mitchell of Fulda, and Fayise Abrahim, of Worthington, who was selected to serve as an emcee for the event.

Tags: nobles county integration collaborative, state and region, news, worthington, lismore, fulda