Finalists, winners, announced for Fall River Youth of the Year at ceremony

FALL RIVER – Mayor Paul Coogan, in conjunction with the School-Community Partnership, announced the 2023 Fall River Youth of the Year on Thursday in the Granite Grille in Durfee High School. The announcement of the Youth of the Year took place on Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.

Sponsored by Partners for a Healthier Community and Mayor Paul Coogan, the award, accompanied by a $1,000 scholarship is designed to recognize and encourage the contributions and excellence of the young people of Fall River.  New this year is the $500.00 Marcia Picard Award for the 1^st runner up.

The Youth of the Year Award entails a three-part process: a nomination by a caring adult, an essay by the youth and an interview. The nominations were based on their personal achievement, leadership abilities, extracurricular activities, and service. The essay required the youth to write about their contributions, motivations, and challenges as well as what their dream for Fall River is like.

Mayor Coogan said: “We had an amazing group of nominees and finalists who represent the very bright future of Fall River. It is wonderful hearing about what they are doing now and what they will accomplish in the future.”

Representing a wide range of youth leadership groups at Durfee, Diman, and Atlantis Charter, the 9 finalists were Emma McDonnell, Eshal Zahra, Rachel Lemma, Eva Bhandari, Julia Hargraves, Maggie O’Connell, Inez Mederios, Elizabeth Kinnane, and Ayla Roias.

Emma McDonnell was the winner with Eshal Zahra the runner-up.

            “The announcement of the Youth of the Year on Absolutely Incredible Kid Day was deliberate” said Youth Services Coordinator Christan McCloskey. The award reinforces the premise of the day which is to highlight how incredible and how important youth truly are. The YOTY and AIKD are a celebration for all youth and what they mean for not only the future, but for the betterment of Fall River now.

Among the attendees was State Rep Carole Fiola.

“Congratulations to the 2023 Youth of the Year nominees! Granite Grill was filled with future leaders with bright paths and vast accomplishments who were finalists for the 2023 Fall River Youth of the Year. A special congratulations to Emma McDonnell for being chosen as Youth of the Year and to my intern, Eshal Zahra, who won 1st Runner Up! I cannot wait to see everyone’s successes as they continue on excelling in everything they do.”