YWCA sponsors annual banquet for ‘Young Women with Bright Futures’

March 9, 2014 at 12:09a.m.

BOARDMAN

For Karen Kocanjer-Hinkson, the seeds of leadership that continue to sprout were planted during her childhood.

“My younger brother has cerebral palsy,” the Campbell Memorial High School senior said. “I have a soft spot for people with disabilities and illnesses.

“I love helping people; I’m a big people-person.”

That goes a long way toward explaining her main desire after high school to spend two years at Youngstown State University studying to be a certified occupational-therapy assistant. Afterward, Kocanjer-Hinkson plans to attend Kent State University to become an occupational therapist, she explained.

For her academic, leadership and other achievements, Kocanjer-Hinkson was one of 27 area high-school seniors who received awards during the YWCA’s 20th annual Young Women with Bright Futures banquet Saturday at the Holiday Inn, 7410 South Ave.

The event’s main sponsors were The Vindicator, State Farm Insurance, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley and the Thomases Endowment Fund of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.

The students were selected largely because of their academic performance, creativity, leadership abilities and volunteerism, organizers said.

“She’s the best kid I could possibly have,” Howard Hinkson said of his daughter, who also has a 3.95 grade-point average.

Also attending was Kocanjer-Hinkson’s mother, Stephanie Kocanjer.

Volunteer efforts also flow through the life of Leah McConnell of Hubbard High School, who plans to major in civil engineering and minor in mathematics at YSU.

“I never really knew how much of an impact I had on people,” said McConnell, who carries a 4.0 GPA and also wished to thank her guidance counselor, Toni Haidaris, for nominating her.

McConnell spent part of last summer working with a Kuna Indian tribe on an island near Panama where she helped rebuild a children’s center that had been damaged in a hurricane. She also volunteers at the Rich Center for the Study and Treatment of Autism at YSU, where her mother, Renee McConnell, is the associate director of programs.

“She’s a hard worker but a leader among peers,” Renee McConnell said of her daughter. “She watches out for kids being bullied.”

The event’s keynote speaker was U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson of the Northern District of Ohio, who advised the students to use their gifts and talents and not be afraid to challenge themselves in college.

Pearson told the audience she had wanted to be a federal judge since age 8, despite having come from a humble background. But she took others’ advice and followed her dream, an approach the award recipients should strive to do, Judge Pearson continued.

In addition, she said, the 27 students should expose themselves to people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, exercise and eat well, feel free to change or alter their goals, work hard and reach out to others.

“I’m not special,” Judge Pearson said. “I’m committed and hard-working, and so are you.”

Monica Mattiussi of Cardinal Mooney High School was the top finisher in an essay contest in which 14 participants wrote about the YWCA’s two main objectives: to empower women and end racism.

The banquet also featured a tribute to the late Jo Ann L. Ellis and Kathleen W. Johnson. Both were teachers and had been named YWCA Woman of the Year.

Additional remarks were from Fran Curl, the YWCA’s board president and an event committee member; Leah Brooks, the agency’s executive director; Deborah L. Grinstein Esq., the Jewish Federation’s endowment director; and Cryshanna A. Jackson, the Bright Futures committee’s chairwoman.