Micah McCabe, a Female Prophet and Tobin Award Winner

It was a beautiful day on May 19 when we gathered on the hill in front of Holy Family High School in Denver. Family, friends, administration and faculty of the high school gave testimony to the wonderful courage and leadership of Micah McCabe throughout her high school years as she spoke up and organized her student friends to support a variety of social justice issues, as well as volunteering at food banks and soup kitchens and participating in service projects in Guatemala and Peru. Overcoming racism is a particular focus of Micah’s. As she has written, “If we are not capable of acknowledging everyone in the human race as an equal, then there is no hope in reaching any growth in any of the countless [social] issues … here and beyond.”

Holy Family pastor Marty Lally offered the opening and closing prayers and gave a wonderful account of the legacy of Mary Luke Tobin. Ken Fitch, a Tobin Award Committee member, spoke of the founding and achievements of the award, which, in its nine years, has given a total of $23,000 to its awardees.

Lastly, I read and presented the award to Micah. Following the presentation, the group adjourned to the McCabe family’s backyard, where we enjoyed a lovely fajita dinner. We wished Micah well as she prepares to move on to Xavier University in Cincinnati where she will focus on her studies in Spanish and peace and justice.