S P O T L I G H T on Steysi Youth of the Year
Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice 33
S P O T L I G H T on Steysi Youth of the Year
Youth of the Year is a year-round program focused on the development of Boys & Girls Clubs ’ members as community leaders . It begins at the local level as each Club selects its Youth of the Month . A finalist from each of BGCV ’ s core programs competes to become the Club-wide Youth of the Year . Candidates are evaluated on a number of criteria including : academic performance , service in the community and the Club , public speaking , and essay writing . Several thousand dollars in scholarships are awarded to the youth who participate in this Clubwide competition .
This year , BGCV had EIGHT Youth of the Year finalists ! That is more than the past three years , combined ! Ryan , Juliana , Fernando , Kaylee , Maria , Alex , Steysi , and Andrew all competed to be this year ’ s Youth of the Year Champion . Each finalist did an amazing job making the Club exceptionally
proud . With the help of judges : Gracie Brown Hanson , Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors ; Mary Lowe , Media Temple ; Colin Leonard , Clearlake Capital Group ; Tony Payne , Google ; Rachel Zaiden , Los Angeles County 3rd Supervisorial District ; and Idalia Munoz , a former Youth of the Year Winner , BGCV is proud to announce the 2017 Youth of the Year Winner , Steysi Perez !
Steysi is set to begin the next stage of her exciting life journey at Mount St . Mary ’ s University studying neo-natal nursing . Steysi credits the Club for “ making me the person I am today : a responsible active young adult who is involved in my community .” She is able to fulfill her dreams through the help of supporters like you .
Special thanks to Google and Tony Payne for hosting the Youth of the Year event and providing each finalist with scholarship money !
Junior Staff are Ready to Work !
Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice ( BGCV ) is host to a ten week , job readiness program that provides teens with their first glimpse into what it takes to get hired . Teens learn to create , edit and fine-tune their resumes and cover letters to help give them an advantage over other applicants applying for their first jobs . Throughout the ten weeks , our teens met with professionals from a variety of backgrounds who give advice and tips on how to successfully manage job interviews , relationships with co-workers and networking to maintain and grow relationships with organizations they ’ ve worked with in the past .
With the help of Fred Ebrahemi and Kelly Wigmore , our teens were able to practice mock-interviews , both in person and over the phone , conduct job-shadowing and receive resume coaching , in order to prepare them for the future . BGCV , with the generous sponsorship of Kayne Anderson Capital Foundation and Bank of America , was able to hire 15 high school students for paid , eightweek summer internships at the Club and nearby restaurant Yellow Fever . Our teens were exposed to real job experience , performance reviews and ongoing feedback from Club staff , which will help prepare our members for their future careers after high school .
A huge thanks to Kayne Anderson Capital Foundation and Bank of America for supporting this innovative and empowering program for our teens !
Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice 33