Mayyadah Zagelow of Seattle is a runner up for the 2020 4-H Youth in Action Pillar Award for Civic Engagement. Zagelow is recognized nationally for her leadership as a champion for equity for all youth. The National 4-H Council announced Zagelow’s achievement last week.
Zagelow struggled with anxiety and selective mutism at a young age and was bullied by peers at school. By joining 4-H, her journey to overcoming anxiety and developing positive, healthy relationships with her peers began. Through 4-H, Zagelow learned to turn difficult experiences into empowering opportunities as she learned to speak up and speak out for herself and for others who feel voiceless.
Passionate about addressing social inequities, Zagelow is a founding member of a grassroots youth movement in Washington state called the Washington State 4-H Teen Equity and Inclusion Taskforce. Here’s a news story about that taskforce.
Through this program, she works with fellow 4-H’ers to educate adults and teens alike through workshops and grassroots efforts about gender identities, expression, orientation and biological sex, as well as the challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community in hopes of creating a world of inclusion for all youth.
Zagelow is a senior in high school and hopes to attend Central Washington University to pursue a career in the medical field.
The 4-H Youth in Action Awards, sponsored in part by Bayer, began in 2010 to recognize 4-H’ers who have overcome challenges and used the knowledge they gained in 4-H to create a lasting impact in their community. To learn more about the 4-H Youth in Action program and the 2020 runners up, please visit http://4-H.org/YouthInAction.
Washington State 4-H is part of Washington State University Extension.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Alison White, Extension 4-H Assistant Professor, alison.white@wsu.edu, 509-962-7507