Empowering Youth: The Impact of the Boys and Girls Club of the Valley
“I was able to actually figure out what I do like and how I want to translate that into the rest of my life.”
PHOENIX — Before her days in medicine and before receiving accolades as Youth of the Year, Samia Reese was a regular club kid, a member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Valley.
“It taught me how to be a people person,” Reese shared. “I would say the biggest thing is how to talk to people, how to articulate myself, and then just never give up and keep going for the next thing.”
More than fifteen years after her first encounter with the Boys and Girls Club, Reed still gives back to the organization that shaped her childhood.
“The Boys and Girls Club has been through every stage of my life,” Reese reflected. “Even post-secondary – after college. They’re always there for you to lean on. Don’t think that because you aged out, or had to move, you don’t have the club to come back to and count on.”
Academic success is a central focus of the Boys and Girls Club of the Valley, aiming to equip each member with a plan to graduate high school and succeed in life.
“There are so many different things you can do here at the Club,” Reese emphasized. “I was able to actually figure out what I do like and how I want to translate that into the rest of my life.”
Reese now volunteers with the club, with a goal to bring medicine to underserved areas in need.
“In my junior year, I decided I wanted to be a Physician Assistant, prioritizing diabetics or family care, and eventually open my own nonprofit clinic back home,” Reese shared.
An academic standout, Samia Reese exemplifies the transformative impact the Boys and Girls Club of the Valley can have on a young life.
“It instilled in me the desire to achieve better and set high academic expectations for myself,” Reese stated.
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