Cape Coral Youth Council presents Excellence Awards and $1,000 Employee Association scholarships to local students

The Cape Coral Youth Council recognized student achievement and announced scholarships at its April 10 meeting.

The council presented five Youth Council Excellence Awards across categories including academics, leadership, civic engagement, arts and athletics. Recipients were called to the podium for certificates and a group photograph.

Employee Association Scholarship ambassador Alex Banks, accompanied by Judy Douglas and Cassie Knowles, announced the association's scholarship program and said the group had increased its award to $1,000 per recipient. "Due to the growing number of members and participation in the Employee Association, we've been able to increase the scholarships to $1,000 each," Banks said. The committee received 13 applications this year and selected two winners: James Wagon Hoffer (Oasis High School), who plans to attend Florida State University to study civil engineering, and Colin Soko (Ida Baker High School), who is completing fire academy training and plans to attend the EMT/paramedic program at Florida SouthWestern State College.

Later in the meeting a representative of the Mayor Scholarship Fund announced that three Youth Council members (identified as Emily, Lexi and Grace Riley in the meeting) were selected to receive a $4,000 Mayor Scholarship (paid as $1,000 per year). The board representative said scholarship payment details and next steps would be sent to recipients.

Council members and advisors praised the students and thanked the Employee Association and Mayor Scholarship Fund for their support. Photos and a celebratory reception followed the presentation.