Alaina Szwed Named Youth of the Year!

The Club held its 55th Annual Recognition Reception on Thursday, April 4, 2019. Alaina Szwed was named the organization’s 2019 PFC Joseph L. Drew Youth of the Year, the top honor that can be bestowed upon a Club kid.

Youth of the Year candidates are nominated in an open process and a group of finalists is selected by the Club’s staff. The finalists are then asked to complete an application consisting of both essays and letters of recommendation. Criteria considered are academic success, commitment to leading a healthy lifestyle, passion for their Club experience and overall good character and citizenship. A panel of judges interview the finalists and choose the winner.

Alaina has been a member of the Club for eight years and is a senior at Woburn Memorial High School where she is an honors student. She’s a member of both the Junior Staff Program and the Intrepid Keystone Club. She has volunteered more than 250 hours of her time over the past twelve months and plans to study marketing in college next year.

In her essay about what the Club means to her, Alaina says “The past eight years of my life have revolved around the Boys & Girls Club, where I have learned leadership skills, social skills, made endless memories and had many mentors who have provided me with guidance to achieve my goals.”