Memorial High School’s Mary and Michael Schiff Named 2018 Youths of the Year

Sold out crowd recognizes outstanding Youth Resources’ students, volunteers and alumni

Youth Resources is proud to announce that Memorial High School seniors Mary and Michael Schiff are the recipients of the organization’s 2018 Youth of the Year Award. 

Both Mary and Michael were named Youth Resources’ Youths of the Month in August 2017, making them candidates for the Youth of the Year Award. The twins were surprised by the honor on Thursday, April 19, at Youth Resources’24^th annual Hall of Fame Celebration held in the Woodward Hospitality Center at St. Benedict Cathedral School.

“Community service is at the heart of all that we do at Youth Resources,” Youth Resources’ Make a Difference Grants Program Coordinator Jessica Fehrenbacher said while announcing the Schiffs as winners. “No pair of students reflects this type of service mentality more than Michael and Mary Schiff.

Fehrenbacher told the sold out crowd of around 275 people about the twins’ involvement in Youth Resources’ TEENPOWER and Teen Advisory Council programs (both are members of TEENPOWER Youth Staff and serve on TAC’s Executive Board), as well as their commitment to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, where they have been servers for many years.

At Memorial, Mary is involved in the theatre program and sings at Mass. She also volunteers at a soup kitchen. Michael is a member of student council and has held several leadership positions as a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 312. He recently became an Eagle Scout thanks in part to his work to improve a 600-stone walking path at Memorial. Both Mary and Michael are members of National Honor Society. 

“It’s really good to get involved with the community and a good way to give back to the community that built me,” Michael said previously about his dedication to service. Mary added, “High school is right now, but service will be forever. It gives me a plan for my future and an outlook on what I might want to do.”

Mary plans to attend Indiana University and Michael will head to Purdue University in the fall.

During the Hall of Fame Celebration, several students had the opportunity to share the ways in which they utilized grant funding provided by Youth Resources’ Make a Difference Grants program. 

Gavin McMinn and Isabelle Hamilton, students at St. Benedict Cathedral School, explained how they and other students in the school’s TEENPOWER Club served meals to firefighters during the week of 9/11 and offered lunch to veterans in honor of Veterans Day. They also talked about the PowerFest event they are planning.