BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – At this year’s Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year celebration, five students competed for a chance to represent Kentucky on the regional and national stage.
“So for the military youth, it gives them the opportunity to have that same consistency in their life as they move around from potential base to base to base,” said Alan Brostoff with The Boys and Girls Club. “Our traditional clubs are more of those clubs that are rooted in a community.”
During the application process, student members had to do several essays, an interview and a speech.
“To is just absolutely incredible, and I definitely think the day before is way harder than actually sitting in there and doing it because I was all my nerves were just at level 10,” said Avaley Moore. “When I finally got in there, I took my deep breath. I was like, ‘OK, this, this is my story.’”
This year, Avaley Moore from the Fort Campbell Club and Lillian Cook from the Kentuckiana Club won the title and $5,500 for scholarships.
KCTCS also donated $2,000 for all five finalists to attend one of their institutions.
“To get here was very hard for me because it’s hard to,” said Cook. “Speak about who I am because I’ve been through most things that. Are hard for me to speak of, and I’m thankful that I got the opportunity.”
To round out the event, AT&T Kentucky president Carlos E. Sanchez announced all 45 students attending the celebration would receive a laptop.
“The Internet is something that everybody should be able to have access to, and AT&T is very much involved, providing access even if financial barriers are involved,” said Sanchez. “So you’re able to navigate the online world and digital literacy because sometimes people just need to learn the skills to get on the online world.”
AT&T is committing $5 billion to help 25 million people get and stay connected to high-speed internet by 2030. This includes distributing more than 600 computers to students and their families across Kentucky since 2021.
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