Cañada College Student Leader, Xitlali Curincita, was recently
selected as the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula's 2022 Youth of the
Year. Xitlali will go on to
represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula at the national
competition. Youth of the Year is the Boys & Girls Club of America’s
signature effort to foster a new generation of leaders, fully prepared to live
and lead in a diverse, global and integrated world economy.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the
Peninsula's 2022 Youth of the Year is an award presented to those who have made an outstanding impact in their community. The selection
process for this award is extremely competitive.
Candidates must present a series of four
speeches to multiple panelists on the interview team. Xitlali was one of 12 students who competed for the award
after being nominated by her coaches from Future Grads, a college preparatory
program held in the Boys & Girls Club.
Xitlali is in her senior year of
high school. In addition, she serves as President of the Associated Students of
Cañada College and is a part of the Middle College High School program. Outside
of Cañada College, she has volunteered as a tutor in
her local library with Project READ as well as other organizations such as the
Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center. She attributes her time spent
in the community to helping her discover that her purpose is to support her
community. She is extremely community focused,
which has helped her to stand out as
a nominee.
The Youth of the Year event,
described by Xitlali, was fancy and glamorous. There were hairdressers, make-up
artists and event planners to prepare the candidates for the event. Many
well-known people attended including Andre Iguodala (professional basketball
player for the Golden State Warriors), John Donahoe (CEO
and President of Nike) and Eric Yuan (CEO of Zoom). The
final four nominees presented their speeches to the panelists, each sharing
their own community building stories. After this, each nominee had one-on-one interviews where they were asked questions about their
experience in helping others at the Boys & Girls Club.
With this award, Xitlali will
receive a $1,000 scholarship and special recognition for the work she has done for her community over the past four years. Xitlali describes
her recognition as a win for her entire community and she is determined to show
others that anyone can achieve this honor. She attributes much of her work
ethic to her grandparents who constantly
reminded her of her roots and why it’s important to work hard. Her grandparents were highlighted throughout her speech, and she
talked about how they have reminded her of her
culture. She takes so much pride in her indigenous roots, as her name
translates to “Star Goddess.” She says that she wants to inspire others as her grandparents inspired her, along with her little brother who
constantly gives her reassurance. She is also extremely grateful for the Cañada
College community for their extra support through this competition.
After Cañada College, Xitlali plans
to attend a four-year university and, so far, she has been accepted to
University of San Francisco, Loyola Marymount University and California State
University, East Bay. She plans to major in Political Science where she aspires to become a politician and help the entire nation but
especially underrepresented communities.
Xitlali remarked that the best part of the Youth of the Year
experience was meeting new people, networking with them and learning from them.
She also would like to put these skills back into helping her community.
Xitlali’s community will be cheering her on as she advances through the Youth
of the Year National competition.
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