A high school student, a university faculty member, a spirituality center and an accounting firm all were named Pathfinder Award winners Wednesday.

The awards go to adults or adult organizations that, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., are initiators or action takers in the struggle for equal treatment and human rights.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Board bestows the awards annually. Awards come in three categories: Pathfinder, Young Pathfinder (for people younger than 18 years), Pathfinder Organization, and Business Pathfinder.

In the Pathfinder category, Minnesota State University faculty member Han Huy Phan was named the winner. The student who nominated Phan described her as “a strong advisor and active professor who provides equal access and education opportunities to all students of all colors.”

The Young Pathfinder Award went to Mankato East High School student Akram Mohamed.

Mohamed, a junior at East and the son of Somali immigrants, has mentored ninth-graders, encouraged members of his sports teams to conduct themselves respectfully, and served on the Student Council and National Honor Society.

“Akram leads by his strong example and does so out of the nature of his character, not because he thinks it will further his personal aims or for selfish interests.

“He is a positive role model, not only for minority students but for all students,” Pathfinder representative Judy Arzdorf said.

Mohamed said he models his life after the example set by his parents.

“I have never had anybody that had four nominations,” Arzdorf said. “I think that says something pretty special about him.”

Said Mohamed, “Helping others is one of the things I enjoy doing the most.”

The Pathfinder Organization Award went to the Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry, headed by Lisa Coons.

“The gardens are a space where neighbors and families, elders and children reflect the growing cultural diversity of Mankato and the gardening practices around the world,” Arzdorf said.

Coons said the community gardens have been there for about 10 years. Recently, demand has increased, and the space has doubled in size in the past few years.

The center, Coons said, reaches out to new immigrant families. She said that oftentimes a group of women from a particular country will come to the garden and help each other work their plots. The following year, those same women will return with their families.