In The Zona - West Valley Dec. 2013 | Page 9

Angel Malak Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year! A ngel Malak is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix Woodrow C. Scoutten/Tolleson Branch Youth of the Year! Angel is a 16-year-old junior at University High who has been part of the Clubs for 9 years! Nine years is a long time! What has kept you a part of the Boys & Girls Clubs? I love the environment. The staff has changed a lot since I was 7, but everyone who comes in has the same love for working here. The staff are always friendly, and you can really tell that they love what they do. Do you think you’ve grown a lot since joining the Club? Definitely. When I was little I wasn’t very social and I liked to just kind of do my own thing, but now I love getting to know new people. The Club also sparked my love of reading. The Club’s library always seemed to have more books than the kids section of the library by my house, so I was always checking things out from the Club. How did you feel when you learned you were Youth of the Year? I was so excited! I walked in one day and they said, “Guess what? You’re the new Youth of the Year!” I know a lot of the previous youths of the year and know that it’s a really amazing program. Sponsored by: What are some of your favorite memories from the Club? I really love the Keystone Club. It’s kind of like student council but for teens. We had a statewide conference last month and I got to bond with H