Gathunguri Earns Lawrence Youth of the Year Honors
LAWRENCE, Kan. – While the trio of candidates on stage held their breath, waiting for the announcement, it was delightfully apparent that they were all rooting for each other. That was the story Thursday night as Ruth Gathunguri was named the 2019 Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence Youth of the Year for the second year in a row.
Liberty Hall set the scene for more than 300 Boys & Girls Club families, board members, teachers, donors, staff and friends to cheer on the Youth of the Year finalists. Serving as the premier event for more than 4,000 local Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, the Lawrence edition featured Clay LaPierre (junior, Lawrence High School), Allie Martinez (junior, Free State High School) and Gathunguri. Each delivered speeches that evoked tears, laughter and respect from the crowd, but it was the senior from Free State High School who earned the highest honor a Club kid can receive – consecutively.
“I was overwhelmed,” Gathunguri said. “They chose me again, I just felt humbled and honored. The whole time I was going through Youth of the Year again, I thought, ‘I don’t know, this is my third year of doing it, maybe people are getting tired of seeing me,’ but I felt so honored when they called my name.”
The audience showed emphatic support for all three candidates, but the crowd proved that they were anything but ‘tired of seeing her’ as joyous screams rang out as her name was announced at the end of the show. Presented by Mid America Bank, Youth of the Year celebrates the life-long relationships that kids develop with the Boys & Girls Club. Youth of the Year is widely regarded as an all-time favorite at the Club by everyone involved. Watching the BGCLK mentors laugh, cheer and cry with their respective candidates Thursday night certainly portrayed that.
“After 17 years in the Boys & Girls Club Movement – this night gets me every time,” said Colby Wilson, Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence CEO. “The audience saw the finished product, but I had the privilege of witnessing the process, the growth and the transformation. I’m humbled by the performances of all three candidates and couldn’t be more proud of the fact the Ruth will be representing the Lawrence Club in the State Competition.”
Those who earn the Youth of the Year title exemplify the powerful impact that the Boys & Girls Club has on kids in Lawrence. Gathunguri, who started as a Club kid at Quail Run Elementary and has now become a Club staff member at Sunset Hill Elementary, fits the bill. While she advanced all the way to the Youth of the Year Regional competition last year, the Lawrence event holds the most special place in her heart.
“This is the community that built me up,” Gathurguri said. “People say it takes a village to raise a child, and I was raised in this village. Being able to represent the students that I teach at Boys & Girls Club and all of the great things this community has done for me is an honor. Even going to State YOY last year, it was not the same as performing here in Lawrence. Lawrence is my home.”
Gathunguri’s brave message revealed that she emotionally lost a brother and battled a damaging eating disorder, but she made it her mission to make sure her Club kids never harmed their bodies the way she did. Her fellow candidates shared strong speeches, as well. Tears were nearly impossible to hold back as LaPierre spoke of how he dealt with anger from his parents’ divorce and the pain of not having friends because of that anger. Martinez shared that no matter how tough it might be to grow up with a single mom and little money, she never said, ‘Poor Me.’ Instead she said, ‘Try Me.’
A gracious group of judges were tasked with making the difficult decision. The panel was comprised of Dr. Anthony Lewis, Lisa Larsen, Nancy DeGarmo, Jeff Hill, Alyssa Klinzing and Matthew All. They conducted interviews with all three candidates, scored each of their three application essays and listened intently to all three speeches to arrive at their selection. Even the winner knew how difficult it was for the judges to make that call.
“I want to see them both on the stage again next year,” Gathunguri said of her fellow candidates. “Going to the same school as Allie, I would sit with her in the mornings and she would tell me she was nervous, I always told her not to be nervous. Going through interviews and practices with her, I knew Allie was going to kill it. Watching Clay grow was amazing. At the beginning, he didn’t talk at all, but tonight seeing him on stage, I was so impressed with him.”
Gathunguri will now go on to represent Lawrence at the Kansas Youth of the Year event in Topeka. State winners advance to regional competitions; regional winners advance to the National Youth of the Year event. Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence has produced the Kansas Youth of the Year in four of the last seven years, most recently being Gathunguri last March. The daughter of Faith Gathunguri and Gilbert Karuga, Ruth went to the Boys & Girls Club Quail Run site as an elementary student. She has career aspirations of becoming a school administrator and plans to major in education. She is looking at Johnson County Community College for her first two years of school before moving on to the University of Kansas