By Ondreya Grant

Optimistic, noble, devoted, responsible, easy going, youthful, accomplished…This is how the 2011-2012 A.R. Gus Barksdale Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year is defined.

I am Ondreya Grant, and I am that young lady. I just turned seventeen three months ago. I will be a senior this coming school year, and I am both honored and humbled to have been named Youth of the Year. I say honored because being Youth of the Year is such a great achievement that I earned. I am so humbled to be given the opportunity to attain such a magnificent title. It makes me proud that I have been recognized with a title I earned with my dedication. I have been a member at the Barksdale for seven years. I have devoted my time, mind, and heart to this Boys and Girls Club on a daily basis. For it to reward me so abundantly- I can only say "Thank You!"

To me, it is my duty as the Youth of the Year to show and prove just how incredible the Barksdale Boys and Girls Club is. I came to Barksdale as a silly ten year old girl. I grew up to be a beautiful, uplifting young lady, only because Barkdale was there for me. Coming from a single mother’s household, who has raised me from birth to now, the Barksdale Club was there for me as I grew into a young teenager. The Boys and Girls Club let me cry on their shoulders when I needed to. It let me know I have a voice, and that my opinion certainly matters. It taught me how special I really am, and how I have the ability to reach outstanding achievements if I put my mind to it. The Boys and Girls Club showed me what a capacity of unconditional love and an ounce of confidence can do to a person.

The Boys and Girls Club is my second home. If I am not at home, you can find me at "The Club," doing wonders and making things happen. I love coming up with new and brilliant ideas to with the teens and younger children, helping everyone explore their new foundation. The foundation that is going to help them become better people, just like the Barksdale Boys and Girls Club made me a better person.

I am the A.R. Gus Barksdale Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year. My name is Ondreya Grant, and I hope and plan to leave a positive impact.