Raya, Espinoza are Youth of the Year

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ALAMOSA — On Saturday, February 17th, the Boys & Girls Club of the San Luis Valley proudly introduced the 2018 Youth of the Year Adrian Raya and Jr. Youth of the Year Juanita Espinoza. In the form of a dinner theatre performance, they honored these two individuals for their outstanding leadership in the club and in the Alamosa community.

The play showed snapshots of the life of a member of the Boys & Girls Club narrated by our very own Jr. Youth of the Year. Nearly 30 members of the club put their Saturdays aside to rehearse for the one-hour long performance. The play was written by the Boys & Girls Club’s Teen Director Madeleine Ahlborn, props were made by the club members, and the staff put in many hours organizing and preparing everything from rehearsals to food preparation. The performance was one for the books with nearly 200 parents, community members and Boys & Girls Club supporters in the audience.

Along with the title of Youth of the Year, Raya has received a full ride scholarship to Adams State University after his high school career. In the upcoming months, Raya will represent the San Luis Valley at the state level in Denver where he will share his dreams for the youth of the future and compete against other teenagers in Colorado for the state title, and if chosen, would move onto the national level. He continues to be a role model on and off the field and has been hired as a Jr. staff at the BGC where he supports programming and mentors younger members when disagreements arise.

Adrian is also an honor student and member of the Gifted and Talented Program at Ortega Middle School. Raya competes for the cross country team and soccer team at OMS.

Espinoza, Jr. Youth of the Year, has made great strides in becoming the best version of herself and continues to work towards being a strong role model for the younger kids. She has a strong support system within the club and now has a good understanding of the Youth of the Year process, giving her a step up in next year’s competition.

Both Raya and Espinoza are the future and they both have the drive and passion to make the world the best it can be. Many thanks to all supporters of the Boys & Girls

Clubs of the San Luis Valley; your support keeps kids learning and growing together in order to reach their full potential. The future is in their hands.