Camas teen named Youth of the Year

Camas — Ilse Villasenor, a Hayes Freedom High School senior, earned a $1,000 scholarship from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland when she was named Youth of the Year on Jan. 20. Villasenor is a member of the Camas Jack, Will, & Rob Boys & Girls Club, and with the win she will move onto compete against teens from Boys & Girls Clubs around Washington and Oregon. If she keeps advancing, she can win a $25,000 scholarship if named National Youth of the Year. To earn the title, Villasenor and the other five candidates gave speeches and had one-on-one interviews with a panel of judges. Villasenor and her family moved to America from Mexico when she was young, and she has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club since. In the past year, she logged more than 300 hours of volunteer service and led activities at her club for younger members, such as yoga and Zumba. She also taught a six-week Spanish class to second- and third-graders in the club. “As an immigrant to this country, the first time that I walked through the doors of the club I knew nothing about American culture and was suffering from culture shock,” Villasenor said in a release from the club. “The Boys & Girls Club was the first place that welcomed me as their own from the beginning. The club has given me what many other people in my life have never given me: opportunity.”