Brown University freshman Evan Pittman returned to Phoenix April 20 to host the 2018 City of Phoenix Outstanding Young Man and Young Woman of the Year Awards at the Phoenix Country Club.

One year after winning the 2017 citywide outstanding young man competition, Pittman was invited to return in 2018 to serve as master of ceremony for the 32nd annual Outstanding Young Man and Woman competition. Pittman performed the national anthem on the violin to open the ceremony, then was joined by ASU Cronkite broadcasting student Jennie Alvarez on stage to introduce each of the male and female winners from the eight districts of Phoenix. Alvarez is an intern with KNOW 99, Phoenix’s youth and education cable channel that produces and broadcasts the awards luncheon each year.

During his keynote speech, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton discussed the values of citizenship that each of the winners had displayed to be selected as representatives of their districts, a sentiment echoed by Phoenix Rotary president Allister Adel.

High school students from across the city compete for this annual scholarship, sponsored by the City of Phoenix, Phoenix Rotary 100, Maricopa County Bar Association and Soroptimist International. After identifying the male and female winners in each district based on academics, community involvement and extra-curricular accomplishments, a panel determines the overall city-wide winners.

“I really appreciated being invited back to be the master of ceremonies this year,” Pittman said. “I had to miss some class time to be here from the East Coast, but I wanted to help celebrate this year’s winners. I enjoyed the experiences I had with Phoenix Rotary 100 over the past two years, and it was nice to see people from the Rotary and the City who I have met during this program.

Pittman was a District 6 representative for Phoenix Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 2016 as a junior, then won both District 6 and the city-wide award in 2017. Phoenix is America’s fifth largest city, and one the fastest-growing cities in America. The Greater Phoenix area boasts a population of nearly 4.5 million, and covers 2,000 square miles.