Archbishop May Award winner Kennedy Thomas gives back to communities that shaped her

(Jacob Wiegand, jacobwiegand@archstl.org) Cardinal Ritter College Prep senior Kennedy Thomas is a 2026 recipient of the Archbishop John L. May Service Award. “Just do it because you want to give back to something or just do it because it’s the right thing,” Kennedy said about what she’d say to other high schoolers about community service.

Kennedy is among 24 high school seniors recongized with the annual award

Laura Kosta

Submitted on March 11, 2026

For Kennedy Thomas, service means giving back to the people and places that shaped her.

The senior at Cardinal Ritter College Prep now volunteers in the churches and community programs she grew up attending in north St. Louis. Kennedy’s commitment to service was recognized alongside 23 others with this year’s Archbishop May Service Award from the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The award, named for the late Archbishop John L. May, is awarded annually to high school seniors who are outstanding examples of Christian service in their schools and communities.

“Kennedy understands that leadership is not about recognition, but about consistently showing up for others. Her faith, empathy and dedication to uplifting her community make her a truly deserving candidate for this award,” Cardinal Ritter principal Orlondo Williams wrote in his nomination letter.

Kennedy grew up attending St. Augustine Church but wasn’t baptized until May 2024. She now jokes that she has “shared custody,” splitting her time between her home parish, St. Peter Claver, and her grandmother’s parish, St. Josephine Bakhita.

She is active in parish life, frequently serving as a lector on the fourth Sunday of the month and volunteering as an usher or gift bearer. She’s a regular helper at Donut Sunday and helps wrangle younger children to get involved, too.

Beyond her parish, Kennedy dedicates time to several community and civic organizations. She’s in her third year serving on the Mayor’s Youth Cabinet, an initiative launched under former Mayor Tishuara Jones and continued under Mayor Cara Spencer.

As the cabinet’s civic engagement and education chair, she helps plan community events, develop strategies to reach young people in the area and coordinate logistics with fellow members.

She also volunteers with Gateway Social, a teen-led group that works to create safe, positive opportunities for youth to gather and build community.

“I’m making sure the logistics are right — do we have everything, is the team OK, making sure everybody is OK when it comes to all the different tasks,” she said.

But one of her favorite places to volunteer is at the Wohl Recreation Center, where she spent many hours herself as a child.

“I did every program I could do,” she said. “I call them my village, because sometimes when my mom had to work, I’d go there — I’d do basketball, I’d do different activities.”

She’s not there as often as she would like during the school year, with her other volunteer commitments as well as volleyball and basketball, but over the summer, she offers as much time as she can to a girls’ empowerment program and anywhere else she can lend a helping hand.

“(The girls) just need somebody to talk to,” she said. She brings a positive mindset: “We’re gonna feel good, we’re gonna be good, we’re gonna be kind to each other, we’re gonna give back, and things like that. I low-key try to instill what other people instilled in me.”

“A lot of people poured into me. If all I could do is just give 10% of what they gave to me to somebody else, I am beyond grateful for that,” she added.

All told, community service has been one of the most meaningful parts of her high school career, she said. Her faith has added a deeper dimension to her service, especially in how she approaches people who might require some extra grace or understanding.

“My faith has just put me in another position to keep being the best person I can,” she said. “I have a different outlook on people now. Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Are you testing me right now?’ and then I just take a step back and be like, ‘OK, what would God do?’”

Kennedy is still making her final college decision but hopes to attend a Black Catholic university and study business administration. She’d like to use her degree to work with companies or initiatives that lift up underserved communities.

Wherever life takes her, she knows she’ll continue finding ways to serve.

“Through my involvement, I learned that leadership is not about a title, but consistently showing up for others and contributing to something bigger than myself,” she said.