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Briana Vergara Named 2018 Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Youth of the Year Briana Vergara Named 2018 Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Youth of the Year

By March 10, 2018No Comments

Miami, Fla. On Wednesday, March 7, Briana Vergara, 17, was named Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade’s 2018 Youth of the Year. A panel of individuals from a diverse mix of Miami-area companies: Angela Smith with the Miami Marlins, Nelson Fraga with NCL, Erica Glick with Top Golf plus Ahbria Marshall, a former Youth of the Year, served as the judges to select this year’s Youth of the Year.

Vergara has been a member of the Kendall Club since she was in kindergarten. She and 29 other teens from Florida Boys & Girls Clubs will be competing for the State Title on April 12-14 in Sarasota. Vergara is a senior at John A. Ferguson High School with a 4.9 weighted GPA who wants to attend Florida International University and become a Civil Rights Lawyer.

“While we have many members here who embrace the attributes we represent at the Clubs, Briana is the ideal representative of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade,” said Alex Rodriguez-Roig, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade. “She deserves to be named Youth of the Year and we congratulate her for all of her hard work.”

Every year since 1955, youth from various Boys & Girls Clubs across Florida have competed for the opportunity to represent Florida as the Florida Youth of the Year. The winner competes in the regional competition. Five regional winners then move on, and one will be named Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year.

The National Youth of the Year serves as both an exemplary ambassador for Boys & Girls Clubs youth and as a strong voice for all of the nation’s young people. He/she receives a new car courtesy of Toyota, scholarships and cash totaling $60,000. He/she, along with the other four regional runner-ups, then travel to Washington, D.C. and speak to the members of Congress and meet the president.

To achieve the title of Youth of the Year on any level, Club members must embody the values of leadership and service, academic excellence and healthy lifestyles. They should exemplify the critical impact that Boys & Girls Clubs have on the lives of young people. The scoring includes candidate essays, interview, speech, letters of recommendation and overall application quality.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade  

Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade has been serving youth in the community since 1940. What once was a single building and site for boys has grown to five Clubs serving thousands of boys and girls year-round, providing programs in the areas of character and leadership development, educational enhancement, career preparation, health and life skills, cultural arts and sports, fitness and recreation. Club staffing, initiatives, and programs are designed to inspire and enable young people and provide them with the resources to succeed and share in the American Dream. For more information, please visit www.bgcmia.org.

 

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