A LEAD organiser for the North East's first Rainbow Ball for young LGBTIQ citizens has been crowned Wodonga's Youth Ambassador.
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Savannah West, 24, received the title at Friday night's RED Carpet Youth Awards which honour the deeds of Wodonga's young people.
In addition to the ambassadorial prize, Ms West won the individual community service award for her work with LGBTIQ projects such as the ball, presenting gender and sexuality educational workshops and advocating for a student diversity group at Wodonga TAFE.
Year 12 student Andrea Bejsta, 18, won the sport and recreation volunteer award.
The accolade recognised her leadership and dedication to Scouts, having notched more than 40 hours of community work to receive the Queen's Scout Award.
Mica Baker, 17, who has endured a hard upbringing with interrupted schooling collected the endurance and resilience award, a fillip as she completes year 12 studies and works casually at KFC.
Scholarly Molly Corr, 17, a year 11 at Catholic College Wodonga, collected the commitment to continuous learning and development award.
With interests from French to gymnastics to health science, Molly is part of a Melbourne University program that has already guaranteed her an undergraduate place.
Aboriginal artist Carliegh Walsh, 16, took out the visual arts and media award.
Her work, which has themes of meeting places, watering holes and turtle lakes, features on the glass doors of Wodonga's Department of Justice building.
Apprentice chef Ben Warhurst, 18, received the young worker award.
He works at Miss Amelie's restaurant in Wodonga and created the Border Food Forum this year.
Wodonga ballet student Sophie Rawlings, 14, who travels from her Mount Beauty home to the Projection Dance School for full-time training, won the music and performing arts award.
The distance education student travels around 1000 kilometres each week to pursue her goal of reaching the Royal Ballet School in London to finish her training.
The stereotype of the selfish teenager is shattered by Wodonga Senior Secondary College student Jack Redcliffe.
The 16 year-old makes sandwiches for hungry primary school students, helps the Wodonga Jets all-abilities football team and every Tuesday night takes a man in his 20s to a gym to build fitness and social skills.
Jack is also a voluntary cook with Carevan and at home helps guide his two brothers who have personal issues that place demands on family life.
With such a record, it was not a surprise that Jack obtained the advocacy and action prize.
Selflessness was also on show in the award category for young carer.
That laurel was presented to Abigail Malpass, 17, in recognition of her dedication to her foster family.
Four years ago, her parents took in four young and vulnerable foster siblings who joined Abigail's two biological siblings in the family home.
She has made personal sacrifices to help care for her foster siblings and also volunteers at church and umpires netball matches.
Guest speaker at Friday night's awards was former Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations Benson Igua Saulo.
The Melbourne-based head of partnerships, investments, wealth and capital markets, with Australian Unity spoke of the importance of the moments that people don't see behind winning awards.
He told of travelling and being inspired by a principal at a remote school in the Northern Territory who insisted he would remain he the job until he shepherded though the first Indigenous children to graduate from the campus.
