After earning the Pee Dee Area Youth of the Year title in March, Taylor Lewis moved on to the state event. During Tuesday's event, Lewis was named the South Carolina Youth of the Year and earned another $2,500 in scholarships. She will travel to the Southeast Regional Youth of the Year Event this summer.
Growing up in a town with a population less than 500, Taylor felt opportunity was out of reach. The colorful walls and laughter echoing through the Club piqued her interest when she stepped inside as a shy 6-year-old.
“The Club didn’t just give me a place to go afterschool – it helped me re-write my story,” Taylor says. “I learned how to lead, how to listen, how to grow.”
The 8-year Club member attends Connexus Academy and participates in a variety of sports, cheer, volleyball, and soccer, as well as being active at her church and in the Young Missionary Society.
“I refuse to let where I started determine where I finish,” she says.
Taylor plans to be one of the top lawyers in South Carolina after attending either Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, or Columbia University. Not for the title or money, but because she knows what it feels like to be voiceless. “I want to fight for kids who were like me – and tell them, ‘You’re not forgotten. You are seen, and your story matters.’”
That’s what the Club meant to her. “They [the staff] saw me as someone worth investing in,” Taylor says. “Because of you, I now walk with my head high, my heart full, and my dreams within reach.”
Taylor has won Youth of the Year two years in a row for the Rick & Susan Goings Boys & Girls Club in Hemingway.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area have had state winners before, the last ones being Genesis Majors from the Lake City Club in 2025 and Justin McNair from the Lake City Club in 2023. Majors currently attends Francis Marion University while McNair attends Florence Darlington Technical College.
Other Clubs Youth of the Year
In March, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area recognized Nicholas Durant representing the Florence Boys & Girls Club, Angel Smith representing the Hartsville Boys & Girls Club, Ardi’on Carson representing the Lake City Boys & Girls Club, Emonte Kelly representing the Pamplico Boys & Girls Club, and Kyrielle Flynn representing the Timmonsville Boys & Girls Club.
What is Youth of the Year?
For 75 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year program has honored and celebrated the nation’s most inspiring teens – recognizing their commitment to outstanding leadership, service, and excellence.
Each year, one exceptional Club member is selected to be the National Youth of the Year, serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth as well as a voice for all our nation’s young people. These individuals have exemplified the Boys & Girls Club mission and are proof to the impact Clubs make in transforming and saving kids’ lives. National Youth of the Year winners have achieved success in a variety of industries, including entertainment, politics, business, and sports.
Becoming National Youth of the Year is an exciting and inspiring journey. Each year, thousands of Club teens participate in local, state, and regional Youth of the Year events. Six teens, including five regional winners and a national military youth winner, advance to the National Youth of the Year Celebration, where one outstanding young person is named Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national teen spokesperson.
The National Youth of the Year is a role model, leader and advocate for the millions of youth served by Boys & Girls Clubs each year, and all of America's young people. As the teen spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National Youth of the Year get the opportunity to meet the President of the United States. So far, Youth of the Year have met 13 U.S. Presidents.
