Youth 360 Wasilla Helpful Hero for August
Contributed by Jovan Archuleta
As we get back into the school year, we are continuing our Youth of the Month program that began in our summer program. Specifically for the Wasilla site, students provide shout out votes for their peers who have been helpful during the month. Our Helpful Hero winner for August did not want his information in a newspaper so I will refer to him as HH and just talk about why he's such a great teen.
HH has been in the Youth 360 program for over 2 years now. Like many of the youth in our program he enjoys having a place to decompress after a day of school. He tends to have a core group of friends he wants to spend time with but can socialize with any of his peers.
Working with teens I often see very intelligent and caring individuals downplaying their skills to help them fit in and not cause problems. HH is one of these youth. While his distractions can get in the way at time, I value his suggestions and input about our program and have implemented changes based on our talks.
Letting teens vote for their peers can show the true character of a student. HH was part of a 3-way tie for the initial tally of votes. I would describe all 3 of the nominees as not the most outgoing, not the star pupils, and at times kind of troublemakers. But in the end, I have watched their true leader come out in teambuilding exercises and seen their caring mentor side as they help a new youth figure out what to do.
HH took a year off from wrestling and is back in practice now. I enjoy hearing about how tired he is and seeing that little spark in his eye as he talks about something he has a passion for. HH and so many other youths in our program remind me daily that the world is full of good people. They would probably never describe themselves as leaders, but through their actions they show why they are Helpful Heroes.