Lowell Anthony Romero. Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Club
Marshall Fundamental School ninth grader Lowell Anthony Romero, 15, has been selected as the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena’s 2016 Youth of the Year, and will represent Pasadena as he joins 26 other Boys & Girls Club members in vying for the title of Los Angeles County Youth of the Year. Each nominee represents one of the 27 Clubs that comprise the Los Angeles County Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.
Youth of the Year is the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier youth recognition program for teenage members, and being named a Youth of the Year is the highest honor a Club member can achieve. The program acknowledges members’ outstanding contributions to their family, school, community, and Club, as well as personal challenges and obstacles they have overcome.
Anthony, as he is known, was chosen for this honor from among three candidates at the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena. He has attended the organization’s Mackenzie-Scott branch since 2012. Anthony is on the track team at Marshall and is also a saxophone player in the marching band. He also serves as the freshman class president for the Associated Student Body at Marshall. Outside of school, he plays in the Altadena Little League, where his talents on the field took him to the 2015 Junior Tournament of Champions. Math is his favorite subject and he aspires to attend UCLA and become an electrical engineer.
“The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena works with hundreds of kids every day, and the young people who participate in the Youth of the Year program are exceptional examples of our members,” said Executive Director Brian Davis. “Once again, our judges have found an amazing young man who brings so much to the Club and contributes so much to Pasadena. I was very impressed by all three of this year’s finalists and I am proud that Anthony will represent the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena.”
Two rounds of judging will take place before the winner is announced March 23 at a gala celebration. The Los Angeles County winner will advance to the state competition. The state winner will compete at the nine-state regional level, and finally the country’s five regional winners will travel to Washington, D.C. where the National Youth of the Year will be named later this year. Scholarship money is awarded at the different stages of competition and the National Youth of the Year will have the opportunity to meet with the President of the United States at the White House.
The National Youth of the Year serves a one-year term as a representative of the more than four million young people served by some 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide and on U.S. military installations worldwide. Duties include addressing various groups on important youth issues and the role Boys & Girls Clubs play in changing young lives. Locally, Anthony will represent the hundreds of youth served every year at the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena and will attend various Club functions, such as the annual meeting of the Board of Directors and its annual fundraising gala, in his Youth of the Year capacity.
About the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena
The Boys & Girls Club operates two sites in Pasadena—the Slavik Branch at 3230 East Del Mar Blvd. and the Mackenzie-Scott Branch at 2020 North Fair Oaks Ave.—and serves more than 2,500 community youth year-round from Pasadena and the nearby communities of South Pasadena, Alhambra, San Marino, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, La Canada, La Crescenta, Montrose, and Glendale. Since 1937, the mission of the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena has been to enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Club promotes the health, education, social, vocational, and character development of boys and girls, ages 6 to 18, and helps improve the lives of these children by helping them build self-assurance and develop leadership skills while reinforcing positive values.
