June 1, 2021 – At the weekly Board of the El Paso County Commissioners meeting held today, the Commissioners approved a proclamation recognizing June 1, 2021 as iInspire Day to honor five youth who have overcome adversity and inspired others.
“The Minority Overrepresentation Subcommittee of the Fourth Judicial District’s Juvenile Best Practices Committee and the Educating Children of Color Summit, LLC, thanks the El Paso County Board of Commissioners for recognizing June 1, 2021, as iInspire Day, in honor of this years’ amazing iInspire Award recipients. Each recipient has truly overcome adversity and inspired others to do the same,” said Cara Nord Staff Attorney for the Office of the Child’s Representative.
Daniel Casteñeda, 19, Medhanie Hasebu, 20, Nneoma Magnus-Nwakuna, 17, Sanaa Smith, 17, and Sara Wattley, 19 are the 2021 iInspire Award recipients recognized at today’s meeting by the El Paso County Commissioners, the Minority Overrepresentation Committee of the Fourth Judicial District, and the Educating Children of Color Summit.
Each recipient has overcome adversity and inspired others to do the same when faced with various life circumstances. The honored youth each have persevered and overcome, becoming advocates for others and themselves.
The Commissioners all congratulated the recipients, acknowledging their inspirational achievements.
Commissioner Carrie Geitner said, “Congratulations to each one of you, I am absolutely inspired by each one of your stories. You have shown tremendous amounts of resiliency, of grit, and fortitude. Those characteristics will certainly take you far in life no matter what you decide to do.”
“I too want to pass along my best wishes for your futures which I believe are going to be outstanding and great. The stories of overcoming and adapting and becoming even stronger are amazing,” stated Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez, Jr.
“The definition of inspire is two parted,” said Board Vice Chair Commissioner Cami Bremer. “It’s what you do and then it’s how you translate that into an action for others; that is what makes you stand out.”
Board Chair Commissioner Stan VanderWerf gave his congratulations to the recipients stating, “You are an inspiration to us, you really are. To know where you’ve come from and how far you’ve gone, and where you want to go in your lives is a message of hope, a message of love, and a message of community.”
And Commissioner Holly Williams finished the ceremony, adding, “It is just beautiful, the tremendous faith in God, the support and belief you have for your family, your willingness to work hard, your diligence in overcoming adversity is just amazing to me.”
For more information on the iInspire Awards visit https://educatingchildrenofcolor.org/i-inspire.