Aonga, big heart, big dreams.

The original Ace winner, Aonga Shalita, continues his quest to help others with his many gifts. His latest update:

"My time at Macalester opened so many doors that I didn’t even know were options! I have been working for Rise Inc., a non-profit out of North Minneapolis for the past year. It has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much about mental health, social services, benefits, education and pitfalls that exist in our society. I have also learned more about people from different walks of life, experiences, attitudes and learned about their stories. As an employee at Rise, I work to support people recovering from mental health issues, pursue meaningful employment. It has been a fantastic experience that I can’t really do justice in describing. Moving forward I plan on continuing working here while I prepare for graduate school that I hope to attend the year of 2019!"

Ace would be proud.

Update from Yemi.

Yemi, the 2014 Ace winner, has difference-making plans. Awesome to hear. An update from her:

"I am in my final semester of my senior year at St.Bens! I am currently waiting to hear back from two fellowships to hopefully be abroad next year! I am a semi finalist from both the Fulbright Award for Taiwan and the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching Program). I will hear back from them sometime in the beginning of April."

Go, Yemi!