Youth of the Year Uriel Castillo pictured here with Youth of the Year volunteer judges, Rose Mary Callahan of Malaga Bank; Joseph Brajevich of Glaser Weil; Anthony Pirozzi, Port of L.A. Commissioner; Gabriela Medina of Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office; and George Mayer of Coastline Equity.
Check back for information about next Youth of the Year event to take place in November 2016!
Our 2016 Youth of the Year event took place on January 11 and was generously hosted by the San Pedro Fish Market.
We are proud to announce Uriel Castillo of our Port of L.A. Club as the L.A. Harbor Youth of the Year. As one of our most accomplished high school members, Uriel has been a Club member since elementary school. His family resides in the Rancho San Pedro public housing community and he has achieved much in the face of hardships.
In addition to being an accomplished student at POLA High School and participating in our College Bound program, Uriel is active in his community. He is a member of the Club’s Keystone community service group, served on Mayor Garcetti’s Youth Council, and held an internship in Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office.
Ultimately Uriel wants to return to the harbor region after college and mentor future members of the Port of L.A. Boys & Girls Club.
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Thank you to Ariana Berlin for delivering the keynote address at our Youth of the Year event. Her amazing story of overcoming physical and emotional trauma to become a four-time All American gymnast for UCLA truly inspired our youth and supporters. Her journey can be see in the movie, Full Out.
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Our teens recognized George Mayer at our Youth of the Year event for supporting the program for over ten years. In addition to serving as the volunteer director of our mentoring program, George takes the time to share his personal story with our youth and inspire them to greatness.
It is because of George’s rallying that we were able to send 17 high school Club members on a leadership trip to Washington D.C. this past summer.
Thank you, George, for all that you do!
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Congratulations also to our San Pedro Club Youth of the Year Melanie Fontelera and Wilmington Club Youth of the Year Andres Tejeda.
Melanie has been with the San Pedro Club for two years and serves as Secretary of her Keystone group. She also participates in College Bound and assists in organizing Club events. Melanie is a junior at San Pedro High School and plans to attend a 4-year university.
Andres has been with the Club for 6 years. As a Banning High School senior in College Bound, he has the highest practice SAT score among his Club peers. He plans to attend college in the Fall to study Computer Science. Andres is also part of Keystone and the Arts Academy.
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