By Sam Cavalcanti, YDP
“Youth of the Year” (YOY) celebrates our High Schoolers’ achievements and excellence in character, leadership, and in upholding the values of the Boys and Girls Club. Our chapter’s “Youth of The Year” event will be held on March 3rd, but before that, we held mock interviews with the contestants, to give them a chance to deliver their speeches to an audience for the first time, answer questions similar to those the judges will give them, and to receive feedback from a panel of our staff.
The kids are alright, as they say. In fact, they are amazing. I had the opportunity to be a part of the mock panel this year, and I recommend any staff do so if given the chance. I left the preparatory event commenting to fellow staff that, if those teenagers are the future of our nation, then we are in excellent hands.
We had teenagers from all walks of life, with a plethora of interests and varied dreams for their futures and the futures of their communities. The YOY competition hopefully will get these members closer to achieving these dreams by providing them with an opportunity to hone their writing, speech, and interview skills, along with gifting the contenders with generous rewards and scholarships from the event’s sponsors.
The winner of our chapter’s “Youth of the Year” will then move to the local level, with the opportunity to move forward to the state, regional, and national competitions. Best of luck to all the participants!
