ExCEL award winners at NUHS
NEW ULM — Two New Ulm High School juniors, Abby Hietala and Isaac Blumhoeffer, received the ExCEL Award this year.
ExCEL stands for Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership and is given to Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school, show leadership qualities and volunteer in the community.
Hietala and Blumhoeffer were selected to receive the award from among 20 nominees. Both wrote personal essays about their volunteer experience.
Blumhoeffer wrote about his mission trip to West Virginia, in which he helped build a new deck for a disabled man.
Hietala wrote of her work at a summer camp that teaches teens to immerse themselves in nature.