News Room

SAINT PAUL – Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is proud to announce that two Minnesota students were recognized at the National Association of Secretaries of State 2025 Winter Conference as recipients of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award.

The award recognizes outstanding young people 25 years or younger who have demonstrated leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and are motivated to improve the quality of life in their community.

Minnesota’s recipients of the 2024 John Lewis Youth Leadership Award are:

• Brady Sternberg of Eagan
• Markus Wessman of Plymouth

“The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award honors students who have demonstrated commitment to their communities through leadership and acts of service, Brady and Markus have done just that,” said Secretary Simon. “Their work to advance civic participation for their peers shows that the Minnesota spirit of public service is strong in the next generation.”

Brady Sternberg is a freshman at American University. He grew up in Eagan, Minnesota, where he made a big impression as a committed and enthusiastic supporter of civic engagement, for himself and for others. As an 8th grade student, he joined the YMCA’s Youth in Government program. Over time, he gained responsibility and experience as the leader of his school delegation where he developed a scholarship to make the program affordable to more students. Eventually, he was elected statewide youth governor by the more than 1,200 delegates. As a high school student, he was also a delegate and presiding officer on the Conference on National Affairs and served on the YMCA of the USA’s National Youth Advisory Council.

Markus Wessman is a senior at Wayzata High School. Markus founded The Youth Voter Project in 2023, a non-partisan, youth- and student-led organization focused on youth voter registration, pre-registration, and voter education in Minnesota. He recruited board members and 34 student ambassadors across Minnesota. He found a fiscal sponsor, secured a $5,000 grant, and under his leadership the Youth Voter Project added over 1,000 registrations and pre-registrations through student-led registration drives at 28 Minnesota high schools in the first year alone. That count is now over 2,400, and Markus has created a solid foundation for that work to continue after he graduates and goes on to college.

About the NASS John Lewis Youth Leadership Award

The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was established in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). The award honors the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis.

His courageous achievements during the Civil Rights Movement and his long tenure of public service have inspired and will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. In 1961, at the age of 21, Lewis was one of the original thirteen Freedom Riders. In 1963, Lewis was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington and one of the “Big Six” leaders who organized the march. In 1965, Lewis helped lead the Selma to Montgomery marches. The first march became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement when unarmed marchers were attacked by state troopers as they crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis’ activism continued throughout his life. He served as a U.S. Congressman for 33 years until his death in 2020.