Boys & Girls Clubs Oklahoma Alliance honors top youths
The Boys & Girls Clubs Oklahoma Alliance honored its Oklahoma youths of the year Wednesday during a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion Pavilion.
Kismet Okyere, 18, of Boys & Girls Clubs of Bartlesville, was named 2018 Traditional Youth of the Year, and Lindsey Sciberras, 16, of the Tinker Air Force Base Youth Center, was named Military Youth of the Year. This is the second year in a row each girl has won the award.
“My mom was there, and she gave me as much as she could, but since my dad was in prison, there was something missing,” Okyere said. “I went through a bad time. … I felt like giving up. (The Boys & Girls Club) encouraged me and made be believe I could be successful.”
Okyere, who attends Bartlesville High School, has been active in Boys & Girls Club of Bartlesville for 12 years. Through her activities, including Run the Streets, a program that matches running mentors with kids in the juvenile justice system, and New Day Camp, a summer experience for kids who have one or more incarcerated parents, Okyere said she is able to mentor younger members. She is active in Torch Club, Keystone Club, National Honor Society and has completed a year of AmeriCorps service. She plans to study child psychology at the University of Missouri this fall with an eye toward becoming a psychiatrist in the juvenile justice system.
“Now that I’ve been put in the position to be a leader, kids who have been in my situation might be able to see me be successful and believe they can, too. It’s an eyeopener. As long as I’m on the right
path, I’m helping them staying on the right path,” she said. “This is a great organization. It truly is a home away from home for me.”
Sciberras is a junior at Midwest City High School, where she is involved in music and drama. Sciberras has been a member of the Tinker Youth Center for the past 13 years and currently is president of the Keystone Club, a group designed to promote leadership skills.
She hopes to attend the University of Florida for a bachelor’s degree in criminal law. She
aspires to be a defense attorney and fight for justice for the falsely accused.
“Being a military child is hard. But no matter what baggage I walked into the club with, someone was always willing to pick it up,” Sciberras said.
“My dad recently got back from deployment. While my dad was gone they never stopped supporting me. They’ve always encouraged me to do what’s best for myself and always inspired me to become a leader.”
This year, seven students from across Oklahoma competed for Youth of the Year after being selected by their local clubs to participate in the state competition.
Finalists include Mackenzie L. Bechtold, Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Metro Tulsa; Paul Chandler, Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Greater
Oklahoma; Hunter Haslip, Boys & Girls Clubs of Durant; Hannah Bradley, Altus Air Force Base; and Johnnie Armstrong, Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County.
Okyere and Scriberras each received a $5,000 scholarship as part of the award.
They will represent Oklahoma at the Southwest Regional competition later in the year where they have an opportunity to compete for additional scholarships.
Five regional winners each receive a $40,000 scholarship and compete on the national level. The National Youth of the Year receives up to an additional $100,000 scholarship and is installed by the president of the United States.