Maeve Carlson, a junior at Wiscasset High School, has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a certificate of excellence from The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a national program that honors youth volunteers nationwide for outstanding volunteer service. The program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), grant certificates of excellence to the top 10 percent of all applicants in each state and the District of Columbia.

This year, Carlson was chosen to receive a certificate based on her outstanding volunteer work in Guatemala with the organization Safe Passage. Maeve traveled to Guatemala City and worked with that city’s poorest residents — people living and subsisting in the community surrounding the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. She was one of several volunteers working to improve access to education for these people.

Maeve is the daughter of Shawn and Molly Carlson of Wiscasset.