***PHOTOS / INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES. Mr Kapur is available for interview on request and the photos of the winners are available on request.
Details of the category winners' achievements are at the end of this release.
Remarkable young people from Leicester and Leicestershire have been recognised for their outstanding achievements in the Lord Lieutenant’s Young Person of the year 2022 competition.
13 talented young people and their families attended a special awards ceremony at County Hall in Glenfield to celebrate their contributions to society.
Musician Sebastian Carrington, 16, from Hinckley, received the top prize of the evening being named the Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year 2022.
This years awards evening and dinner was hosted by the Lord-Lieutenant Mike Kapur supported by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant and his Deputy Lieutenants Mrs Sally Bowie and Mrs Diana Brooks MBE, who were also involved in judging the awards.
Three finalists shortlisted in each of five categories were recognised as remarkable examples of dedication, going above and beyond to help others and for their outstanding personal achievements.
The category winners are:
- Young Braveheart of the Year -Simeon Mehay (Leicester), 16, Lancaster Academy
- Young Artist of the Year - Sebastian Carrington (Hinckley), 16
- Young Leader of the Year - Yuvraaj Dhugga (Leicester), 18, University of Birmingham
- Young Volunteer of the Year - Frances Miller (Loughborough), 18, Loughborough College
- Special Achievement award - Paarth Acharya (Leicester), 16, Brockington High
These young people were all considered for the overall award of the Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year which went to Sebastian.
Sebastian said: “It was such an amazing moment to hear that my work was not in vain, and that people, especially the Lord-Lieutenant, recognise the work that I put into my passion for music. It was fantastic.
"It was surreal really (to hear my name announced as the winner) but absolutely fantastic to receive recognition for all of the work I've put into everything I've done.”
Mr Kapur said: “As Lord-Lieutenant, I’m privileged to be able to meet some of our city and county’s extraordinary young people and see truly humbling examples of volunteering, community engagement, and personal achievement which require dedication and commitment of the highest order.
“It is a privilege for me to be able to recognise and reward our young people this evening and share their stories of bravery, creativity, strength of spirit and selflessness that should be an inspiration to us all.
“Too often the achievements of young people go unnoticed by the wider community, so I hope that these awards will help to showcase some of the remarkable work going on across Leicester and Leicestershire that deserves recognition.”
The awards are sponsored by a variety of organisations offering services to young people, including Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council, together with universities and the business community, and seek to identify and reward the very best examples of achievement by young people locally.
These awards continue to highlight the talents and dedication of our communities’ young people and we look forward in anticipation to the 2023 awards.
Ends
NB: Sebastian uses gender neutral pronouns - they/their
Notes to editors:
About the Lord-Lieutenant
The Lord-Lieutenant is The Queen’s representative in the county. The current Lord Lieutenant is Michael Kapur OBE.
About the awards scheme
A panel of judges which included young people, chaired by the Lord-Lieutenant, considered all nominations meeting the criteria for the award. The judges shortlisted three young finalists in each category of the award.
The finalists each received a framed certificate together with a prize.
Category winners each receive a prize to the value of £500.
The overall Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year also receives a special trophy.
Over 60 nominations were received for this year’s Lord-Lieutenant’s awards.
2022 Category winner citations:
Young Braveheart of the Year – Simeon Mehay is 16 years old and attends Lancaster Academy
During year 10, as part of his English speaking and listening assessment, Simeon delivered a speech which his nominator described as ‘the most inspiring and profound speech’ she had heard in all her years of teaching. Not only was Simeon presenting to his peers in a third language, but he was sharing with his class something that was deeply personal.
Simeon was assigned female at birth but always felt this label did not truly express who he was.
Slowly but surely, he bravely started to share his identity with the adults around him who he felt he could trust.
The day of the speech was the day he finally felt ready to share his truth with the world.
The speech was eloquent, honest, and brave and had a profound effect on his class. Not only did Simeon share who he was, but he taught his peers an important lesson. His nominator felt that every child in the class that day left a better, kinder, more open-hearted version of themselves.
Since then, Simeon has supported his peers in the LGBT society tirelessly, has lead the student LGBT ambassadors in school and has delivered powerful training to the school staff on LGBT issues.
He is also, day in day out, a kind, compassionate, hardworking person who demonstrates strength and resilience well beyond his years.
Young Artist of the Year – Sebastian Carrington is 16 years old and lives in Hinckley
Sebastian is a very talented and highly qualified young musician who already has Diplomas for Singing, Piano, Music Theory and Organ. They attend the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and in 2020 they won First Prize in the Advanced Piano Solo, Advanced Organ and composition competitions at the Leicester MusicFest.
Sebastian was also a Finalist in the BBC's Young Chorister of the Year in 2020 and a Semi Finalist in 2021.
In 2022 they won the prestigious Beethoven Piano Society of Europe intercollegiate piano competition playing Beethoven’s D minor sonata Op. 31 no. 2, commonly known as the “Tempest” sonata, with exceptional technical and interpretative ability.
They have performed concerts for charitable causes and plays organ for weddings and funerals throughout the area.
They have performed at concerts, including playing organ at Leicester Cathedral and Coventry Cathedral, and has produced a CD of their concert music.
They recently became one of the youngest people to gain a Diploma of Associateship from the Royal College of Organists, allowing them to wear an academic hood when robed.Having studied music composition, they have composed Carols and choral arrangements for performance including for the three churches a musical setting for their Eucharist services.
They have had a service music setting premiered at Coventry Cathedral- where they were a chorister. Sebastian has been described as a worthy role model for young people and is much admired by musicians in their area and beyond, gaining a national reputation.
Young Leader of the Year – Yuvraaj Dhugga is 18 years old, and currently studies Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham
In 2020 Yuvraaj volunteered to lead a new group at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus called Medhedz, a group of like-minded Year 12 students hoping to go into the medical profession.
Yuvraaj laid out plans for the Year 12 extracurricular programme to help inform and enhance the students’ learning experience, giving them something special to add to their UCAS applications.
He created a programme of learning sessions around interviews and the required tests, helped to arrange guest speakers from the local university and hospital as well as organising projects for the students to complete.
Yuvraaj had weekly meetings with the students and listened to their feedback.
On top of giving up his lunchtimes to meetings, Yuvraaj spent hours creating resources for the group.
Due to the covid-19 disruption and despite moving into year 13, Yuvraaj remained as the leader of the group to help the new Year 12s have as many positive experiences as possible in Medhedz.
Yuvraj’s commitment to creating and running this programme has continued to endure beyond him leaving Brookvale Groby, and his resources and activities have become the foundation of the group for years to come.
Without his enthusiasm and dedication the programme would not have evolved into such an excellent programme.
Young Volunteer of the Year - Frances Miller is 18 years old and attends Loughborough College
For the last 12 months, Frances has spent her Saturday mornings and holidays as a volunteer with Loughborough-based Molly’s Gift, a charity dedicated to providing opportunities for disabled children and disadvantaged youngsters to participate in sport.
Thanks to her dedication, disabled children have a place to go to get involved in sport, boost their fitness and wellbeing as well as providing an inclusive and supportive environment.
Frances also volunteers as a coach for the Foxes’ under 12s teams and as one of only a handful of female referees in the boys and girls under 13s league. At the same time, this amazing young woman is studying three A levels in Biology, Business and Geography.
Frances stands out for the sheer amount of time she gives to others, and for her passion for helping others which shines through as she lights up when discussing her volunteering. It is clear to those around her how much it means to her - and how much the children get out of working with her.
Frances’ nominator said: “I think the work that Frances does shows a huge amount of maturity and it’s so heart-warming to know that these children have somewhere to go.
"Not all children have these opportunities so it’s great that they can get top coaching and support from passionate, lovely people like Frances.”
The Lord-Lieutenant’s Special Achievement Award winner – Paarth Acharya is 16 years old and attends Brockington High School
Paarth has devoted his time, knowledge, and skills to motivate and uplift his community- both young and old- during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He collaborated with a number of organisations such as Nupur Arts to hold workshops and provide entertainment via zoom.
He organised an online party delivering a variety of music pieces to lift the spirits of the community and to encourage and raise the profile of young musicians.
Paarth volunteered for seven months during the pandemic to deliver food to the homeless.
He also assisted a group of volunteers to pack and distribute food for children who were without nutritional meals during school closures. There have been many obstacles and personal challenges, but through his positive attitude and determination he has achieved his goals of helping people in need.
Paarth has achieved all this in his own time without neglecting his academic studies.
In Year 8, he succeeded in achieving a GSCE in Gujarati, followed by and A-level in year 10.He has also received a Gold Arts Awards and earned a bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Paarth’s enthusiasm and commitment is like a Midas touch and anything he endeavours upon he makes sure he completed it and achieves it to the best of his ability.