LEWISTON — Youth encouraging youth was the scene at May’s Motivate Me standing-room only event hosted by the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council and the Lewiston Firefighters Association. Four hundred and eighty seventh- and eighth-graders from Lewiston Middle School and St. Dom’s Academy responded to the question, “What motivates you to do well in school?” Of those students, 29 stand-outs were recognized in the Lewiston Council Chambers.

The 29 youth received “Your Aspirations Are Your Possibilities” gift bags filled with items donated by more than a dozen Maine colleges. Each gift bag also contained a pair of Flagship Cinema movie tickets.

The youth council had slotted the winning responses into four categories, most heartfelt, most driven, family encouragement and unsung hero. A sample of each is below:

In addition to the gift bags, three names were pulled for grand prize drawings. Kyla Sturtevant won five Aquaboggan tickets, Nasra Aden won $20 gift cards to five local eateries and Alyssa Pobe Bourgette won a $100 gift card to Walmart.

Other students being recognized were: Taya Marie Simpson, Eric Hall, Nicole Robitaille, Muna Mohamed, Damon Bureau, Kamari Solomon, Zachary Abisalih, Jessica Boulet, Darby Tuttle, Molly Grenier, Katie Plourde, Elizabeth Small, Ryan Spooner, Abdirizak Ali, Michael Bryant, Sarai Labbe, Rudy Castellano, Chelsea Harvey-Brame, Emily Payne, Matt Keaney, Sophia Fagone, Alec Silva, Austin Hobbs, Taylor Ogden, Ahmed Mohamed and Brent Jones.

During the recognition ceremony, a special thank you was extended to Lewiston Rec’s Administrative Assistant Claudette Jordan for assisting with securing donations.

For more information on the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council, visit www.lewistonmaine.gov/lyac. Current members are Jama Ahmed, Jake Bergeron, Courtney Costello, Kevin Costello, Stephanie Costello, Brendan Landry, Holly Lavorgna, Allie Lewandowski, Kon Maiwan, Kenzi Masselli, Fatuma Mohamed, Nadifa Adan Mohamed, Shuaib Naji and Marissa Zanoni.


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