Youth of the Year
We are thrilled to announce Brockton Clubhouse member, Markayla Petit-Frere, as Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South's 2024 Youth of the Year!
“The Club has made me realize how important it is to value the opportunities presented to me and understand what I need to do to accomplish my goals.”
- Markayla Petit-Frere
Markayla is a sixteen-year-old student at New Heights Charter School in Brockton who has been a member of our Brockton Clubhouse for seven years. At our Brockton Clubhouse, Markayla serves as a Peer Leader and a member of our Keystone Club teen service group. Markayla also holds our 2022 Junior Youth of the Year title!
As 2024 Youth of the Year, Markayla plans to center her platform around youth mental health and education. Beyond our high school and her time at BGCMS, Markayla plans to pursue higher education and an eventual career in social entrepreneurship to impact these issues of mental health and education.
Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) holds a competition to award the most prestigious honor a teen can receive as a member of their local Boys & Girls Club. Youth of the Year is BGCA’s signature effort to foster a new generation of leaders, fully prepared to live and lead in a diverse, global, and integrated world economy.
Annually, one exceptional Club member is selected to be BGCA's National Youth of the Year, serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth as well as a voice for all of our nation’s young people. Over the decades, these individuals have exemplified the Boys & Girls Club mission and are proof of the impact Clubs make in transforming and saving kids’ lives.
Becoming National Youth of the Year is an exciting and inspiring journey. Each year, thousands of Club teens participate in local, state, and regional Youth of the Year events. Each local Club candidate is evaluated by an internal panel on the quality of personal essays, recommendation letters from teachers and Club staff members, academic transcripts, awards, and interviews.
Ultimately, six teens - including five regional winners and a national military youth winner - advance to Washington, D.C. for the National Youth of the Year Gala & Celebration Dinner, where one outstanding young person is named Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national teen spokesperson. The National Youth of the Year is a role model, leader, and advocate for the nearly 4 million youth served by Boys & Girls Clubs each year, and all of America’s young people!
Since 2017, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South's Youth of the Year character and leadership development program has been proudly and exclusively sponsored by The Phia Group, which generously provides the time, talent, and treasure needed to make this program so impactful for our members.
From members of their staff team serving as application coaches and judges for the YOY competition hosted at their corporate headquarters, to providing a college scholarship and laptop to the member ultimately selected as Youth of the Year each year, The Phia Group is there at every step of the way to amplify impact for our youth leaders!