About WA State Youth of the Year
Washington State Youth of the Year is three days filled with events designed to provide educational and inspirational experiences for our finalists!
Program participants arrived in Olympia on Tuesday, March 26th and gathered at Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County for an evening program. On Wednesday morning, they headed to the Governor’s Mansion for breakfast where Governor Inslee made an appearance. Teens then headed to WSECU for an interview workshop, which youth always find to be informative and helpful. Afterwards, everyone traveled up to Boys & Girls Clubs of King County where the teens partook in speech prep at a local Club. When finished, everyone checked in at their hotel in downtown Seattle. Later that evening, the youth took a limo ride and toured the neighborhoods of Seattle, enjoying a tasty treat at Kerry Park and taking photos.
On Thursday, Club members arrived at Bell Harbor International Event Center for speeches and interviews in front of a panel of esteemed judges. Representatives from Umpqua Bank, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, WA State Legislature, School’s Out Washington, Bezos Family Foundation, and WA State 2023 Youth of the Year Alumna selected the 2024 Washington State Youth of the Year and 2024 Washington State Military Youth of the Year. The winners were announced at the dinner that was attended by Club leaders, youth mentors and their families as well as Youth of the Year corporate sponsors. Each finalist had the opportunity to share their personal story with the Celebration audience. All youth received a $500 scholarship, and several finalists were recognized with additional merit scholarships.
The 2024 WA State Youth of the Year was not possible without the
generous help of the following sponsors:
