Civic Nebraska honors Lama Ibrahim with the 2026 Young Civic Leader Award for helping young people recognize their voices, understand the issues affecting their communities and turn civic awareness into action.
For Lama, civic engagement does not have to begin with a leadership title or even the ability to vote. It can begin with a question.
“To me, civic engagement can look like anything from asking questions to recognizing local issues and taking initiative, like signing petitions or even voting.”
A second-generation immigrant and senior at Lincoln High School, Lama has already transformed that belief into meaningful opportunities for her classmates. She helped establish and now leads the Ethnic Leadership Initiative, a student organization that brings students of color together through advocacy, education, community service and civic participation.
Through the initiative, Lama has helped organize mock elections, petitions, community panels and conversations with public leaders. She has also supported voter education workshops, Know Your Rights education and student walkouts focused on immigration enforcement. A student newsletter gives her peers another way to learn about civic issues and understand how decisions made beyond their school affect their daily lives.
What distinguishes Lama’s leadership is her desire to bring others with her.
She is not just passionate about these issues herself; she wants other students to understand that they have a voice and can use it.
Lama has turned that conviction into opportunities for her classmates to learn, organize and make an impact. Through mock elections, for example, students who may not yet be eligible to vote can practice the process and begin seeing themselves as future voters. Through panels, petitions and workshops, they can hear different perspectives, ask questions and explore how change happens.
Her civic engagement extends beyond Lincoln High. Lama has volunteered with the NAACP, the New American Youth Leadership Academy, Diverse Scholars and organizations serving Nebraska’s Sudanese community. She has participated in Youth Lobby School, attended town halls and community events, canvassed for candidates and studied Nebraska’s political landscape to strengthen her understanding of the systems she hopes to influence.
She also supports her community in ways that may not always be labeled as civic engagement, including tutoring English language learners and helping care for Lincoln High’s community garden. Together, these experiences reflect Lama’s expansive understanding of participation: learning about an issue, helping a neighbor, sharing information and taking action are all ways to strengthen a community.
Being selected for the Young Civic Leader Award helped Lama recognize just how far her impact has already reached.
“I was shocked at first because although I knew I was making a difference, I didn’t realize the scale of my impact, but it’s definitely motivating and uplifting to be awarded such a title.”
Even as others recognize her leadership, Lama continues to approach civic life as a learner. She attends programs, studies issues and listens to people with different experiences so she can become a more informed and effective advocate. Her nominators describe a young leader who acts with hope and faith in democracy, even when progress feels difficult.
For Lama, democracy ultimately belongs to the people who participate in it.
“As for democracy, to me it’s giving the power of governance back to the governed, democracy is the backbone of a successful society.“
Lama Ibrahim is a Young Civic Leader because she is not waiting until graduation, adulthood or Election Day to participate. She is asking questions, creating spaces for others to learn and showing her peers that they already have the power to shape their school, their community and their democracy.
Meet Lama and her fellow honorees at the Strengthening Democracy Awards on Sept. 17.
2026 Young Civic Leader Award Honorable Mention
Lucas Ramirez