When Nyema Johnson stepped foot in the Columbus chapter of Boys and Girls Club of America four years ago, she was a shy little girl who barely spoke to anyone.
Now a junior at Columbus High School, Johnson is advancing to the state level of the Youth of the Year competition. It is an annual leadership and public speaking competition held by Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
“It means a lot,” Johnson said. “This is something that I have been wanting to do, to take a leadership role. I don’t see many people my age doing this very much, so it’s really exciting.”
Boys and Girls Club offers a safe place for kids who need it. Clubs are staffed by trained staff members who mentor the kids and try to help them succeed in school and be productive members of society.
Johnson had a long road ahead of her preparing for the challenge, and she had to overcome her biggest fear in the process.
“(My fear) was definitely talking to other people and being in front of the camera saying things to them,” Johnson said. “I just feel like I’ve overcome a lot with coming out of my shell and not being shy and things like that.”
Johnson was the runner-up for the area last year though, so she had a chance to experience the competition and come back even more prepared this year.
Throughout all of this, she has had cheerleaders. Perhaps none more so than Brittany Turner, unit director for the Columbus chapter.
“When she first came here, she was very shy and timid and kept to herself,” Turner said. “Now she’s just blossomed into a person that is more vocal and is more willing to get involved and do things not only with her peers here but with her peers at school. So, just watching her grow has been amazing.”
The role Johnson has stepped into within the club is that of helper — helping a peer with homework or helping the staff serve food. She is always ready to jump right in.
“I love to put forth what I have learned for other people and share the experiences I have gone through to maybe help someone,” Johnson said.
Now, that desire to lead and help others could pay dividends for Johnson as the Youth of the Year competition comes with scholarship money for the winners.
She has been chosen as the area winner from among a pool of nominees from the Columbus, Starkville and West Point clubs.
From here, she will advance to the state level in March, which features a $5,000 scholarship. The prizes increase all the way to $100,000 at the national level.
“We want to make sure our kids understand the benefit behind the work,” Turner said. “Because if they’re putting in the work, they’ll definitely reap the benefits.”
Aside from the Youth of the Year accolades, Johnson credits her involvement with Boys and Girls Club for her success in school as well, specifically in the social aspect.
“(Being in the Boys and Girls Club) has helped with me getting involved in other things such as sports and some different clubs we have at school,” she said.
She added that everyone at the club was one big family and that was her favorite thing about being involved.
“We are a family here and everybody is their own person,” Johnson said. “So, you don’t have to be another person around anybody here, you can just be yourself.”
She showed a bit of her humor too, when after a pause she added that the food was a close second for favorite though.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
