Photo by Deb Gau Julie Walker coaches a student at Southwest Minnesota State University’s speech and debate room this week.

MARSHALL — A Marshall resident has received a statewide honor for working to build community. But Julie Walker said she’s just one of many people working to make the Marshall area a better place.

“There’s so many people doing so many beautiful things to make the community beautiful and welcoming and encouraging,” Walker said Monday. “This is certainly something that is a reflection of everyone I get a chance to work with, and the good that we can all do together.”

Last week, the McKnight Foundation announced the 2025 recipients of the Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor. Walker, an associate professor of communication studies at Southwest Minnesota State University, was one of seven people receiving the honor this year.

Each of this year’s honor recipients represents a different region of Minnesota, with Walker coming from the southwest region of the state.

“These seven Minnesotans embody the power of showing up with purpose and care,” McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen said on the Foundation’s website announcing the honorees. “Across our state — from Moorhead to Red Lake Nation, from Rochester to Cook County –they are breaking down barriers, creating spaces where people belong, and building communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Their dedication, compassion, and conviction inspire us all, and we are honored to celebrate their significant contributions that make Minnesota a more caring, connected place.”

The Heart of Community Honor has recognized 333 Minnesotans since 1995, the McKnight Foundation said.

The McKnight Foundation’s announcement of this year’s honorees highlighted Walker’s work to help make the Marshall area a more inclusive place. Walker serves as the director of the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ+ Center at SMSU. She is one of the co-founders of Marshall Pride, and co-founded the nonprofit Southwest Minnesota Pride. Walker is also a member of the city of Marshall’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.

Part of the creation of the Marshall and Southwest Minnesota Pride organizations was from area residents “seeing a need in the community, wanting to make sure that queer and trans youth have a safe space to exist,” Walker said.

“While it’s a huge honor to be in this space, it’s certainly a shared honor. It’s the power of communities, the power of mutual aid,” Walker said of her community work.

Walker said she also works to support equity for young people in other ways. One example has been through working to create more accessible ways for university students to participate in speech and debate. Asynchronous speech tournaments — where students submit a video of their speech — makes it possible for them to compete without the financial cost of travel. It can also make speech and debate more accessible for students with disabilities, she said.

Walker said that she tries to take the approach of listening and then making connections with people and resources tin the community.

“Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something, is kind of my approach,” she said. “It’s about finding community and connecting together to make these spaces what we want them to be. Really, it’s enhancing the spaces that are already here.”

“I’m really lucky that I get to work with the people that I get to work with, on so many of the projects that we get to do,” she said.

The Heart of Community Honor includes a $10,000 award for each of the recipients. Walker said she hopes to reinvest the award money to support Pride events into the future.

“It was part of the work that we’ve done to make safer spaces in our area, and it’s going to keep going towards that,” she said.

The funding would help make a difference, as nonprofits are facing a time of financial uncertainty, she said.

Walker said it’s been positive for her and her family to be part of the Marshall community.

“I’m just really grateful that I get to be a part of this community and do the work that I get to do, and know the people that I get to know, and share the path with people,” she said.