Jeremiah Program Legacy Award | Virtual Event

The JP Legacy Award is an initiative designed to uplift and celebrate the children of JP alumni who are making an impact in their communities. By investing in their education and aspirations, we continue our mission of disrupting generational poverty, two generations at a time.

Zayna Kaba

Zayna is a high school sophomore and the daughter of 2004 JP alum and inaugural JP Alumni Fellow Ethelind Kaba. “I’ve realized that titles or grand gestures don’t define my legacy,” she says of her leadership. “It’s built through consistent, genuine efforts to bring people together, uplift others, and work toward a more compassionate, sustainable future.” Those efforts include helping to raise awareness and funds through an initiative called Climate Action, which led to her school purchasing two solar panels toward a greater effort of more sustainable energy usage. Zayna also helps lead Oasis, her school’s Black student group, promoting inclusion and representation.

Ethan Mages

Ethan, the son of 2014 JP alum and 2022-2023 JP Alumni Fellow Ashley Mages, is wrapping up his sophomore year in high school, with plans to one day become a neurosurgeon. “From a young age, I’ve wanted to help people,” he says. Ethan serves as secretary of his county’s 4-H Club and is a member of the music honor society Tri-M, which gives him the opportunity to instill a passion for music in kids from elementary through high school. He spends a great deal of time volunteering with his mother, teaching elementary Girl Scouts and the young children at the JP Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses about engineering and preparing healthy meals for JP Minneapolis families.

Emmanuel Schmitt

Finishing his senior year of high school, Emmanuel, also known as Manny, is captain of his school’s soccer team. The son of 2012 JP alum and 2023-2024 JP Alumni Fellow Mary Claire Wente, he volunteers with Bikes for Kids, which provides bicycles to kids from military families on the financial margins, and Bridging, which once supported him and his mother with furniture in their early days together. Perhaps his biggest role is as a “safe person” for his younger brother with autism and hydrocephalus. “Each day, I drive him to school, and I am available to my parents if they need assistance calming him down or regulating his emotions,” he says. He believes this relationship is preparing him for a compassionate adulthood.