A teenager from Redbridge has received a national award for her contributions to the community.
Nahian Joyeta, a pupil at The Ursuline Academy Ilford, was named as one of nine teens to win a Rotary Young Citizen award for Great Britain and Ireland 2024.
The awards ceremony was held on April 20 in Warwickshire.
Rotary judges were impressed by Nahian's commitment to bettering her home borough as well as her ambitions for her own future.
Nahian said: "I feel very honoured and quite accomplished that I have been recognised for my work.
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"For my future ambitions, I want to continue encouraging young girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and helping the community."
The 16-year-old is a member of the Redbridge Youth Council which helps to encourage issues faced by young people to be brought up for discussion.
She also represents Redbridge through her role as a Child Friendly Redbridge Ambassador, which has recently seen her work with Unicef and the Metropolitan Police to battle child vaping in the borough.
In her school life, Nahian mentors other young girls through her role with the school's club the Stemettes.
Nahian said: "I am very passionate in AI and robotics because I think they are the future.
"Most often, young girls are discouraged from such a male dominated field, like engineering.
"Fortunately, my parents have given me the option of choosing what I want to do and I just fell in love with engineering."
Nahian has overcome a great deal of challenges in her home life, including being evicted with her family and moving between temporary accommodations.
Despite this, her commitment remained unaffected and Nahian even has her sights set on her future after university.
She said: "After I graduate from university, I want to start my own tech company, and start a charity which would provide opportunity and mentorship for these young girls to continue in the STEM field and advance."
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The award is not the first she has received so far this year.
The teen was previously named winner of the Recorder and Redbridge Rotary Young Citizen award on March 12.
Rotarian and club president, Peter McCafferty, said: “Nahian is a truly inspiring young person whose commitment to education and her community is brilliant to see.
"Her award win is thoroughly deserved and we wish her every success in her future campaigning.”
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