NC Youth of the Year

Diana Torres: 2004 North Carolina Youth of the Year

Diana Torres of Hendersonville was selected 2004 N.C. Youth of the Year for Boys & Girls Clubs.  Torres, the daughter of Galdino and Matilde Mancilla Torres, competed against other Boys & Girls Club youth for the state title March 25 and 26 in Charlotte. The N.C. Youth of the Year competition was sponsored by the Super Bowl runner-up Carolina Panthers, who awarded Torres a $10,000 college scholarship.  She plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the fall.

For the past three years, Torres has been a junior staff employee of the Boys & Girls Club working with younger members.  “I attribute a lot of my success to the kids at the club,” the 18-year old said.  “If I didn’t care about them, I wouldn’t have accomplished this.  They make me reflect on my own childhood, and I really want to help them change for the better and make right decisions in their lives.”

A three-year member of the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County, Torres is a positive role model for today’s young people, said Kevin Lauritsen, executive director of the club.  “She has provided leadership and guidance to the club’s members, setting an example of great citizenship and accomplishment.”

Growing up, Torres’s life was much different from most kids who attend the Club. As a toddler, she lived with an aunt for four years in Mexico while both parents worked very hard here in the U.S. to bring her and her brother to this country.  Her parents were migrant workers moving from state to state.  When Torres joined them at age 5, she lived a migrant life.  She lived in North Carolina for three months in the apple season, then three more months in Florida for the orange season, and the rest of the year in Georgia.  That meant attending three different schools each year.  But in seventh grade, her family settled in NC for good.  That allowed Torres to stay in one school system, maintaining the school credits necessary to graduate with her class on time.

Now a senior at North Henderson High School, Torres is a member of the National Honor Society; a founding member of Action, Inspiration and Motivation for migrant students to stay in school; and an active member of GeoScience, a club that tackles service projects in the environment.       In the community, Torres is a youth board member of the Latino Advocacy Coalition and on the advisory panel for the American Association of University Women.

Bonnie Gibson, education coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club, said “Torres is hooked on life.  Beyond just not doing the wrong things, Diana goes out of her way to do the right things.”  Gibson continued, “She is a great asset to the club and the children.  She jumps in with both feet, whether it is helping kids with reading, homework or just being with them in the game room or at the park.”  Gibson said Torres is one of the most well-rounded and level-headed teens with which she has ever worked.