The Suffolk Office on Youth last week awarded this year’s Suffolk Youth Achievement Awards at the Suffolk Planters Club. The awards have been given since 2009, when the office developed the event to celebrate the accomplishments of young people who have made a positive impact on the city of Suffolk.

For the Love of Band served as the event’s co-sponsor this year. Applications for the awards are accepted in March of each year. Contact Rickeda Fofana at rfofana@suffolkva.us or 514-4503 for more information.

The following young people were honored at this year’s event:

• Outstanding Community Service Award: Kenya Rivers is not only a sophomore at Lakeland High School, she is also enrolled in Paul D. Camp Community College, where she is pursuing an associate degree. Her future goal is to become a pediatrician. She is noted as being kind and generous. She has devoted many hours to helping others though the Nursing Careers and Pathways mentor program, Kindred Nursing Home and various programs within the city of Suffolk. She is quoted as saying that, “Community service allows us to provide service to those who need it most.” She was nominated by Regina McKinney.
• Outstanding Youth Leadership Award: Jacqueline Hendricks is a sophomore at Nansemond River High School. She is a member of Project Lead the Way Engineering program. She is noted as being the type of person that excels in everything she does. She shows leadership roles in all aspects of her life. Some of her accomplishments include a 4.3 grade point average, member of the National Honor Society and member of the tennis and field hockey teams. Most notable is her Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest honor in Girl Scouts, for her project Manners Matter, which was implemented in two Suffolk Parks & Recreation locations. She was nominated by Cheryl Hendricks.
• Rising Star: Corie Williams is a ninth-grader at Nansemond River High School. After being accustomed to making all A’s and B’s, she struggled with having seven classes, one of which was honors, but has not let that slow her down. She is back on track and planning to take some summer courses to get ahead. She is actively involved in the track and field team and the marching band. She is quoted as saying, “It is my responsibility to work on all my endeavors so that I can be successful.” She was nominated by S. Michele Duncan.
• Outstanding Athletic Award: Raemaad Wright is a senior at King’s Fork High School. He is a member of the International Baccalaureate program. Raemaad was a member of both the varsity football and basketball team. He was a vital part of both of those teams having a successful year. He is noted as always being focused and determined, often putting in many extras hours of practice to improve his skills. His level of dedication and effort was shown both on and off the court and field of play. He was recently awarded a full scholarship to play basketball on the collegiate level at Virginia Union University. Raemaad was nominated by Theotis Porter.