It is with great pleasure that I announce the winners of the 2015 E+ Awards. Three awardees were chosen by an all youth selection committee for being courageous, taking a risk, challenging the status quo and creating an impact. The recipients are listed below, with a brief writeup of why they were chosen from our Youth Selection Committee.
Youth Awardee: Zanye Hoyland
We believed that Zayne’s hard work and dedication towards his community was highly courageous. He helped run the silent auction which showed that he has taken a risk, and a risk that did not necessarily benefit him directly. He constantly challenges the status quo because he is not a “normal” high school student. He continues to try to raise money for his school and community with out getting paid a dime. His impact was very astronomical as well because he has raised of $9,000 in a single year.
Local Awardee: Becca Walkinshaw
Sustainability Coordinator at Gallegos Sanitation
We chose Becca because she seems very courageous. She developed her own work position, which shows a large amount of courage. This also shows her risk taking because if this position she created were to fail, she would be out on the streets. She challenges the status quo because most companies now-a-days are 100% about profit. Though she went out of her way to make her company achieve profit while greatly reducing their carbon foot print. Her impact is, for starters, the carbon foot print that was removed though also has cleared many tons of garbage that would have potentially ended up in a landfill. Within the company she has increased recycling at special events by 85%.
Global Awardee Gabriel Lengamunayk
Founder of Samburu Morani Education Programme
We really like that Gabriel was a “quiet leader” or unsung. He seemed to display an immense amount of courage. This is because he decided to pursue education when that may not have been the easiest option. This also was a risk, he took a scholarship and went to study, which could potentially have ended poorly. Though when he came back be did what most would never do. Instead of taking his education and keeping the knowledge and power to himself he gave back to his community. He came back and created the Samburu Morani Education Programme which helps men in the community gain knowledge. This is such an impact because the base of economic development in ANY society or economy is education. All highly developed nations have a strong education program. Gabriel started the ball rolling for Kenya to gain the advancement it needs through an educated work force.
The Youth Selection Committee was created in partnership with the Fort Collins High School class in Advanced Marketing.
Unlike many traditional recognition programs, the E+ Awards “doesn’t recognize people for being the best, it values people that go out of their way for trying something different and challenging the status quo.” Chase Hopkins, a Senior at Fort Collins High School who co-led the selection process said. “I learned that a lot of things people do around our community you don’t even see. People in our community are doing more than meets the eye.”
This is the third year of the E+ Awards program and the first year that an all youth Selection Committee choose the recipients. We look forward to sharing a bit more about each of the recipients in 2016!