April Bigby, Renée French, and Clay Ewing, the recipients of the 2025 Diane Galloway Volunteer of the Year Award from the Friends of the University Park Public Library.
“Everything she did enabled everything that the Friends does,” the nonprofit’s president, Katharine Friguletto, said of April Bigby at a recent University Park City Council meeting. Bigby led a team of volunteers who made much-needed upgrades to the Friends’ outdated technology. “Our website is amazing,” Friguletto said. “It has laid a foundation for the years to come.”
Library director Jackie Lott described Renée French, who began volunteering as a weekly shelver last May, as “an absolutely joy to have on the volunteer team.” Although she has moved out of the area, French’s kindness, generosity, and willingness to lend a hand will have a lasting impact on the library.
Despite being a busy student at Highland Park High School, Clay Ewing has volunteered for over a year at twice-monthly programs for elementary students. Youth services librarian Zoe Williams called Ewing patient and kind in his interactions with children and noted that he is always willing to help in any way he can. “She’s appreciated his reliability (and) his enthusiasm for working with younger kids,” Friguletto told the council, adding that Ewing sets a high bar for other volunteers.
Highland Park High School seniors Camden Coale and Layton Braziel, who brought home their second consecutive state championship in 5A cross-examination debate in March. The students beat out more than 50 teams from around the state to earn the UIL title. They had to prepare to argue both sides of a resolution — the position they took in each debate was determined by a coin toss — as well as to answer questions posed by their opponents during a three-minute cross examination period.
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