Meet Shaniya: Youth of the Year for Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County

Shaniya

1) How long have you been a member of Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta?

I have been at the Boys & Girls Club for about 1 year.

2) Why is your Boys & Girls Club important to you?

My Club is important to me because they have shown me that it’s okay to be myself and that I can do whatever I put my mind to and have given me a second place to call home.

3) What is your career goal? What do you want to do, be when you grow up?

My career goal is to be a pediatric surgeon.

4) How has your Club supported your goals for college, post-secondary education, and career?

My Club has given me plenty of resources, like scholarships to apply to, college tours during the summer, and college research.

5) Who has been a major influence in your life? Why?

Someone who has been a major influence in my life would probably be my Mom. She’s one of my major influences because she’s always shown me that it’s okay to be stressed and to want to take a break but to still go hard for the things I want in life.

6) What is a success you achieved through the support of your Club?

A success I have achieved through the support of my Club would be making it to the next grade. I didn’t have any motivation during my junior year in high school and going to my Club gave me a lot of motivation to do my best in school and get good grades.

7) What is a challenge that your Club helped you overcome?

A challenge my Club has helped me overcome would be having low self-esteem. Being at the Club helped me boost my confidence and be open to making new friends and be more outgoing.

8) Do you volunteer in your community or at the Club? Can you share a few examples of this?

I do volunteer. Sometimes I volunteer by helping give out food like breakfast during break or summer, doing work at the front desk with the membership clerk, and helping her organize things. I also worked there during the summer so I have volunteer hours for that.

9) Why do you believe it is important for teens to use their voice in today’s society?

I believe it’s important for teens to use their voice because we as teens will soon be the future leaders of today’s society and we should be helping and giving ideas on how we want our lives to be when we are out on our own in this world.

10) What are you doing, what can you do to spark positive change in today’s society?

Something I’m doing to spark a positive change in today’s society is helping my peers become more productive and confident to have a voice in the community, I also try to help the little kids at my Club to be more productive and always listen to their parents when they should and to never be disrespectful, but to also use their voice and never hold their tongue because they will be future leaders.

11) What moment or moments in your Club do you believe have shaped you to serve as your Club’s Youth of the Year

I think one of my biggest moments that shaped me into who I am would probably be when I gave the Club tour to Shaq. I was genuinely nervous and scared, but when I started to give him the tour I was just my regular self, it made me feel like I could do whatever I wanted, and I had an extreme confidence boost. So, doing that has definitely helped me shape myself into the person I am right now.