Established in 1947, the Youth of the Year Award at Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston recognizes Club members who have shown superior leadership, academic achievement, and service to their respective Club community. The annual program builds personal growth and leadership qualities among our young members.
Get to know Laila, Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club member and 2020 Club Youth of the Year:
Leadership is a common theme when peers and Club staff describe Laila. She is characterized as a natural born leader and one who leads with kindness, enthusiasm, and self-respect. This acknowledgement from Club staff and peers inspired her to become more involved in Club. Laila ran for and won the position of Keystone Vice President and President of Anime Club; these two accomplishments served as pivotal moments that allowed her to recognize her own leadership potential.
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Laila describes her Club experience as one that not only provides a safe place for her, but for her peers – a place where they can have fun and manage stress. Laila is passionate about the issue of teenage stress. Through her own experience and research, she has found financial hardship, schoolwork, and the presence or lack of parent and peer recognition to be some of the factors that contribute to teenage stress.
As a sophomore at Brookline High School, she participates in the mindfulness program and culinary arts and encourages other teens to engage in positive activities they find of interest in order to create a balance and minimize stress. Some of Laila’s other interests are video game programing, debate, reading comics, and writing stories. She is currently in the process of writing a comic with a friend of hers and hopes to add it to a portfolio for college.
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