Elizabeth de la Cruz
The National 4-H Council has selected a student from McLean County in Illinois as the winner of the 2016 Youth in Action award for science, technology, engineering and math, which is partly sponsored by Hughes Network Systems.
Winner Thaddeus Hughes will receive $10,000 in prizes consisting of a higher education scholarship and additional STEM programming for his hometown from HughesNet, the company said Wednesday.
“Our goal through our partnership with 4-H is to empower young people like Thad so they can not only change the world but inspire others to do so as well,” said Peter Gulla, senior vice president of marketing at Hughes.
“4-H’ers like Thad show just how much positive impact 4-H youth leaders can have on their communities and the world around them,” added Jennifer Sirangelo, National 4-H Council president and CEO.
The STEM award winner, who is currently an engineering student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, has served as a mentor in the FIRST Lego League, the Illinois State Robotics Competition and the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension’s Spinning Robots afterschool program.
Other Youth in Action awards were given out for agricultural and animal sciences, citizenship and healthy living.
