ACLU of Iowa Honors West Des Moines Student Who Raised $15,000 for Immigrant, Refugee Scholarship

Des Moines, Iowa — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa is pleased to announce that Nyibol Chol, 18, is the winner of its Robert Mannheimer Youth Advocacy Award.

Nyibol (knee-BOL) is being honored for her advocacy as a fundraising committee member of RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Student Embassy), a student-led group at Valley High School in West Des Moines. She helped raise $15,000 for a scholarship geared towards first-generation, immigrant, and refugee students.

“All students deserve to have opportunities after high school,” she said. “I know people who moved schools to avoid their parents being deported. I know people who gave up after-school activities, like sports, to work and help their families. The political environment is taking away the chance for kids to be kids.”

RISE was founded in 2022 to uplift the voices of marginalized students. The group holds college visits, mentorship opportunities, study nights, and a cultural food drive. Valley High School will also begin offering a new World Language and Culture Studies course next year after RISE members led the effort to make it happen.

Nyibol has firsthand experience with the difficulties that some first-generation students face. Her family is originally from South Sudan, but fled to Kenya as refugees, and she was born there in 2007. At age 6, she moved to the United States. Although she spoke Dinka, Swahili, and some English, she struggled to fit into her new home.

It wasn’t until she started high school and joined RISE in her sophomore year that she felt like she could be herself.

“Being around other students who have the same background has really helped me be more comfortable with being an immigrant and refugee,” Nyibol said. “I used to hide it. Now I’m more open.”

After graduation, Nyibol hopes to major in education or political science.

"Nyibol’s efforts are a wonderful example of how Iowans are working to honor the dreams, dignity, and rights of immigrants—even while too many in power undermine them,” said ACLU of Iowa Executive Director Mark Stringer.

The ACLU of Iowa Robert Mannheimer Youth Advocacy Award is a $500 cash prize given to a young Iowan aged 14 to 19 who has demonstrated a passion and advocacy for civil liberties. It is named as a memorial to Des Moines attorney and civil liberties advocate Robert Mannheimer.

For more information on the Robert Mannheimer Award, click here.

For photos of Nyibol, click here.