WEST MICHIGAN — Students from West Michigan competed to be crowned the State Youth of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of America, a program that celebrates inspiring teens in the community, sharing stories of leadership, service, academic excellence, and more.
12 students from around Michigan took part in the event. Earnest Robertson shared his story with us last month, as he got ready to head to Lansing.
On Monday, we heard from him and another West Michigan teen about the journey, and how they fared in the competition.
“It was an awesome experience,” said Earnest Robertson, one that the Godwin Heights student says he won’t forget.
He attended a Lugnuts baseball game, visited the Capitol, met state officials, and made new friends.
He went up against other students from Boys and Girls Clubs around the state, going through judged interviews and delivering a speech.
“My speech was about my challenges and obstacles to overcome. I talked about how I almost died as a child. I was very premature, I was very sick and I have overcome so much since then,” said Robertson.
Earnest was awarded a plaque for becoming a Youth of the Year state finalist.
“I didn't get the opportunity to move on to Regionals, but I am grateful for the space and the opportunity the club gave me to participate, and I'm just grateful to the person who won. I hope she represents,” said Robertson.
That person was another West Michigander — Isabel Shepard from the Boys and Girls club of Greater Holland.
“I feel like it was kind of surreal,” said Shepard.
Her winning speech was about something personal she was once ashamed to share.
“I explained how after my dad went to prison, it was kind of hard for me to figure out who I was because I was really young, and our relationship was all I knew,” said Shepard.
Her dad was sentenced to life in prison when she was just four years old. Despite his absence and a challenging childhood, she didn’t give up.
“I've been accepted to my top two schools – Howard and Baylor – even through hardships and stuff that I've been through, with the support system of my family, my friends and the club, I've been able to push through all of it and still achieve what I wanted,” said Shepard.
She also talked about issues affecting the community and advocated for single-parent households. Her mom was one of them, raising five kids while returning to school to get her degree and working.
“Growing up, I saw her struggling,” said Shepard. “ Anything she had to do whether it was getting multiple jobs, working however long, she would do to support us and get us what we needed."
Lastly, she talked about the impact the Boys and Girls Club has on her life. It’s a place where she can focus on homework, be a mentor and have support to handle life’s challenges judgment-free. What she was once ashamed of, now empowers her.
She shared her dad’s reaction when she told him about the win.
“He said he was proud of me, he told me to keep doing what I'm doing, continue making him proud, so I felt good to hear that,” said Shepard.
She also left some words of wisdom for others:
“There may be barriers and hurdles you have to jump over, but we can get past them, you just have to have the right people behind you to do it.”
Isabel will represent the state of Michigan and go on to compete in Regionals this June, and have the opportunity to win a $10,000 scholarship.
