A local student is making waves with a historic accomplishment. For the first time ever, a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County has been named Southeast Region Youth of the Year. Port St. Lucie High School\u2019s valedictorian, Enrique Rosario Liz, now heads to New York City to compete for the top honor in the nation.<\/p>\n
The Southeast Region Youth of the Year award is given to standout teens across the Boys & Girls Clubs community who embody dedication to academics, strong values, and leadership in service.<\/p>\n
Enrique\u2019s story is one of resilience. Eight years ago, he arrived from the Dominican Republic without speaking English. But through encouragement from his school and the local Boys & Girls Club, he seized every chance to grow and thrive.<\/p>\n
“I could never have imagined this moment when I was 8 years old,” Enrique shared after receiving the award. “It\u2019s a privilege to share my journey, and I hope it inspires belief in every young person who needs a helping hand and an opportunity.”<\/p>\n
Now, as the county\u2019s Youth of the Year and Florida Youth of the Year, Enrique\u2019s rising leadership has taken him from a newcomer in Port St. Lucie to the graduating valedictorian. This fall, he\u2019s headed to the University of Florida, but first he\u2019ll represent the Southeast at the National Youth of the Year competition on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
The Youth of the Year program is the Boys & Girls Clubs of America\u2019s top celebration of teens who shine as role models, leaders, and change-makers in their communities.<\/p>\n
Enrique\u2019s impact hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed. <\/p>\n
“Enrique\u2019s achievement is historic, but his character impresses me most,” said Will Armstead, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County. “He\u2019s turned challenges into opportunities and advocated for others\u2014all with humility and determination.”<\/p>\n
Community leaders and judges echo that praise. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the start, Enrique stood out. Thanks to his hard work\u2014and all those who support him\u2014we finally have a Southeast Region Youth of the Year,” Travis Leonard, owner of A&G Concrete Pools and longtime Youth of the Year judge, said. “I believe he\u2019s ready for the national competition, and I\u2019m proud of him and our whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enrique\u2019s parents say seeing their son reach his goals brings overwhelming pride. <\/p>\n
“We\u2019re grateful to God for every opportunity and to Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County for helping Enrique grow as a leader and a person,” they said.<\/p>\n
As Enrique steps onto the national stage, his journey continues to inspire young people throughout St. Lucie County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A local student is making waves with a historic accomplishment. For the first time ever, a member of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-306956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}