Sixteen students who live in Phoenix or attend schools in the city have been chosen to receive 2023 Outstanding Phoenix Youth Leader of the Year awards.

The awards, presented earlier this month at the Phoenix Country Club, recognize high school students “for their outstanding achievements and positive contributions to society,” a release stated.

Two students from each council district received $500 and were eligible to become the citywide winner. The two overall winners were awarded an additional $1,500.

The overall winners were Lucas Hernandez of Sunnyslope High School and Jaime Lauriano, Independence High School.

Each student applied for the award by submitting a nomination form, essay, recommendation letter and took part in selection interviews.​

All the winners are listed:

Pravneet Chadha, Mountain Ridge High School

Brendan Salisbury, Barry Goldwater High School

Alok Shah, Pinnacle High School

Paige Hill, Pinnacle High School

Samuel Benavidez, North Phoenix Preparatory Academy

Lucas Hernandez, Sunnyslope High School

Abigail Pearson, Xavier College Preparatory

Sonya Colattur, Xavier College Preparatory

Jaime Lauriano, Independence High School

Victoria Vences Mendez, Trevor G. Browne High School

Sanya Somani, Phoenix Country Day School

Catherine Dunn, Chaparral High School

Spencer Harrison, Maricopa Institute of Technology

Natalie Parra Miguel, Metropolitan Arts Institute

Hannah Salaz, Betty H. Fairfax

Viviana York, Phoenix Coding Academy