APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley’s 2021-2022 Youth of the Year winner is Bradon Wiggins, an Appleton North senior, STAR Scholar, tutor, brain tumor survivor and aspiring aerospace engineer.
Ever since he was a child, Wiggins has been passionate about aviation. In his Youth of the Year speech Wiggins speaks candidly about his dreams, struggles and the opportunities he’s seized along the way. He shares how he was crushed that his dream of becoming a pilot was grounded due to a brain tumor and how his new dream is on track to take flight.
For the past three years the Club’s STAR initiative and Wiggins’ STAR Advisor have been giving him chances to thrive and continue pursuing his dreams. His involvement in STAR not only provided him with support but gave him an opportunity to help those around him through tutoring.
In addition to tutoring, Wiggins is actively involved in National Honor Society, Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation Mentoring and AASD’s DEI Taskforce. After graduation he plans to attend the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering.
Youth of the Year is a Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley premier recognition event that celebrates the extraordinary achievements of Club members. Candidates for Youth of the Year are selected based on their values of leadership, service, academic performance and healthy lifestyles.
The Youth of the Year process involves a written application with essays, interviews with the Youth of the Year judges and the delivery of their speech. Candidates share their stories, vision for America’s youth, and how their Club experience has empowered them to find their voice and achieve success through mentorship and guidance with caring adults.
Valerie Alvarado, a freshman at Menasha High School, and Kendall Jackson, a sophomore at Appleton North High School were selected as this year’s Youth of the Year runner-ups. This year‘s winner and two runner-ups participated alongside three other candidates who each shared their stories of resiliency, determination and perseverance.
Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley canceled this year’s Youth of the Year in-person event planned. Judging for this year’s Youth of the Year was held virtually on January 10, which gave each candidate the opportunity to share their stories and to answer questions from the judges to help determine who this year’s Youth of the Year winner would be.
As Youth of the Year winner, Wiggins will receive a $2,000 post-secondary educational scholarship, which is renewable annually for up to four years. In addition, he will have the opportunity to participate in the state Youth of the Year competition in Madison. Each runner up will receive a $1,000 post-secondary educational scholarship and each of the remaining candidates will receive a $500 post-secondary educational scholarship, all of which are also renewable annually for up to four years.
