B & G Club Youth of the Year Candidate is Albina Alieva

The 2007 Club Youth of the Year candidate for the Boys & Girls Club of the White River Valley is Albina Alieva of Northfield. She represented the club at the Vermont State Youth of the Year Gala in Burlington. This annual event was sponsored by Northfield Savings Bank and brought together youth from around the state. Previous club representatives were Nicole Cyr and Abigail Swan of Randolph and Kendra Loati of Northfield. Abigail was selected as the 2005 Vermont Youth of the Year and competed in the regional event in New York City.

Born in Uzbekistan, Albina and her brother, Anvar, moved to Northfield three years ago. They found the cultural differences great, but Albina adapted and excelled. When she arrived, Albina could not speak English and found learning the language to be a challenge. With all her classes being taught in English, it was difficult for her to maintain her high academic standards, but, she studied hard, mastered English and excelled.

Over the past three years at the Boys & Girls Club, she has transitioned from being a teen member to youth leader. Last year, she began her first job as a junior staff member. Albina is also a member of the Northfield basketball team, SHINE, Math and Science Upward Bound, Student Council, and SADD. She acted in the school play and was a recipient of the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Award.

After graduation, Albina hopes to attend Oxford University and a have a career in medicine. She would like to be a plastic surgeon and help patients who suffer from severe burns or birth defects.

In 1947, Boys & Girls Clubs of America formed a partnership with Readers Digest to implement a national youth recognition initiative that promotes good moral character, leadership and service qualities in today’s youth. The Youth of the Year program is a national youth recognition program that celebrates the Boys & Girls Club experience. The Boys & Girls Club of the White River Valley began participating in this national program in 2004.

____________