Senator Helming Announces 14 Youth Leadership Award Recipients

GENEVA – Senator Pam Helming today announced that 14 Wayne-Finger Lakes region high school students will receive the New York State Senate Youth Leadership Award. These awards honor outstanding student leadership and achievement in academics, athletics, arts, and community service. Teachers, administrators, counselors, and other faculty nominate students who excel in the classroom as well as in extracurricular and volunteer activities. Senator Helming will celebrate the students and their accomplishments during a ceremony on Friday, June 1 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Macedon Town Hall, located at 32 W. Main St., Macedon.

“Our region is home to many outstanding young leaders who are deeply involved in their communities and serve as role models to their peers. The Youth Leadership Awards are a great way to recognize these students for their many accomplishments. The young people nominated for this prestigious award possess exceptional leadership qualities and the determination to make a difference in the future success of our communities. I am particularly encouraged by the talent, academic excellence, and outstanding community service of so many young adults in the Wayne-Finger Lakes region. We should all be extremely proud of their hard work and the ways in which they positively influence the lives of those within our community and throughout the state. We look forward to honoring all 14 of these extraordinary students as well as thanking their families, teachers, and schools for having such a terrific impact on their lives,” Senator Helming said.

The 14 award winners are:

• Natalie Acquista, a junior at Newark Senior High School;
• Douglas Bates, a senior at Waterloo High School;
• Braeden Bierwiler, a senior at South Seneca High School;
• Payton Clingerman, a senior at Waterloo High School;
• Lauren Dupre, a junior at Auburn High School;
• Amari Grady, a senior at Sodus Junior/Senior High School;
• Rolando Huertas II, a senior at Geneva High School;
• Daniel Mares, a junior at Sodus Junior/Senior High School;
• Jahmar Malloy, a junior at Sodus Junior/Senior High School;
• Jenna Nila, a junior at Auburn High School;
• Aubrey O’Brien, a senior at Waterloo High School;
• Ashley Ross, a senior at Waterloo High School;
• Shealyn Shattuck, a junior at North Rose-Wolcott High School; and
• Kathryn D. Smith, a senior at Red Creek High School.