Disclaimer: Please note that Lucas Smith is a Journalism 1 student and staff member at The Cougar Chronicle.
On March 11, the Admiral Boorda Teen Center of Naval Base Kitsap named Central Kitsap High School sophomore Lucas Smith a finalist for the 2025 Washington state Military Youth of the Year title.
For over 75 years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) has invited thousands of teenagers aged 14-18 to compete to become their National Youth of the Year awardee, serving as the organization’s national teen spokesperson and youth ambassador. The road to becoming the National Youth of the Year begins at the local level, however, with a limited number of applicants from each state being chosen as finalists from BGCA-Affiliated organizations, who will then prepare to compete at the state level.
In conjunction with the Youth of the Year program, the BGCA additionally recognizes teens involved at BGCA-Affiliated Youth Centers through their Military Youth of the Year distinction established in partnership with the U.S. Armed Services. Parallelling the Youth of the Year program, these finalists will similarly compete amongst each other at the state and regional level for the National Military Youth of the Year title. Five regional Youth of the Year winners and the National Military Youth of the Year winner will advance to the final stage of deliberation, in which one of these six teens will be selected as the National Youth of the Year.
“We came up about three years ago from Georgia’s Kings Bay [Base], the Camden County area, right at the tail end of my eighth-grade year of middle school,” Smith said. “So, I didn’t really hear a lot about a teen center on base, and then when I did, I think it got flooded … Finally, they got it back up and running — I think towards the beginning of this school year. So, myself and my brother have been going for a couple months now to the Keystone [Club] meetings, which is another organization within it that I’ve become the president of.”
Smith explained he and other teens involved in the student-led organization frequently advocate for changes they would like to see at the Admiral Boorda Teen Center. Following the building’s reopening, Smith was encouraged to become involved at the teen center by Kelly Scheese, a school liaison from Naval Base Kitsap who helped establish the Anchored 4 Life (A4L) program at CKHS. As Scheese and Youth Programs Director Talicia Chichester got to know Smith, they felt confident that he would be a strong contender for the Military Youth of the Year program and encouraged him to submit an application.
“It was just how much of a kind, genuine leader he is,” Scheese said. “He would just walk up to the kids sitting by themselves, that were new to the [Anchored 4 Life] club, or just quieter and more reserved, and just sit down and start talking to them. There’s not a lot of teenagers these days that have initiator skills, where they’re just comfortable going up and talking to anyone they don’t know. He had a whole conversation with our A4L trainer about fried chicken and Texas, and I was watching him having this conversation with an adult — which is also a skill a lot of teenagers [don’t have] — like, they don’t want to talk to adults, they don’t know how to interact. As I was watching it all unfold, I was just like, he needs to be in this program. Since he’s been involved in the teen center, he’s just been very kind and passionate, getting involved and including the younger teens.”
Though it’s only his second year at CKHS, many may recognize Smith as a familiar face due to his involvement in a vast range of extracurricular activities, clubs, and school events. In addition to being president of Keystone Club, Smith is the vice president of Anchored 4 Life, vice president of his ASB class, and co-founder of CKHS’ faith-based club Cougs 4 Christ. As a Welcome Cats Team member and Freshman LINK advisor, Smith aims to welcome, mentor, and support new students during their transition to CKHS.
“What I want to present and tell people is that kindness is ultimate,” Smith said. “You have these people who are like, ‘I want to improve this within the teen centers. I want to improve this within the military as a whole; I want to improve this as a country as a whole, even the world as a whole.’ I envy those people, that they have something that they’re like, ‘I need to change this about the military or the world.’ For me, I think it’s just kindness. Just a friendly word, just seeing someone, even just smiling. I know it’s kind of not as impressive, but just to be there, just to be that one person.”
During the Ombudsman Assembly held on March 11, Smith was presented with a commemorative plaque by an Executive Officer (XO). Throughout the afternoon of March 21, the teen center held a celebration for Smith, during which Smith gathered together with friends and family to hang out, play games, and give an acceptance speech.
“He’s just the best,” Smith’s younger brother Tyler Smith said. “He’s just so kind, so attentive. That’s all I can really say about him, because that’s what he is. I have no words for it — so kind, so attentive, selfless, and he’s been like that for a long time, too.”
Outside of celebrating, Smith has been hard at work preparing for the next step in the program’s process, during which he and two other state finalists will attend the Governor’s Mansion for a reception on March 25, a day including introductions, interview workshops, and practice with speeches on March 26, and a formal interview with a panel of judges, including the finalists’ prepared speeches, on March 27. According to Scheese, Washington state’s Military Youth of the Year will be awarded $3,500 in scholarship funds, and the National Youth of the Year will win a $50,000 scholarship on top of a brand new vehicle courtesy of Toyota. With the national celebration typically taking place in Washington, D.C., Scheese explained that previous winners have occasionally been invited to take a tour of the Pentagon, be introduced to government officials, or even meet the president, depending on scheduling availability.
“I’m very excited, not really nervous,” Smith said. “I trust that God has a plan, that he brought me here, and it’s just like, wow. I’m here today. I look back, and I’m like, if I didn’t make this decision, I wouldn’t be here at all. If I didn’t go to the teen center, if I didn’t go to Anchored 4 Life, if I didn’t even come to this school, I wouldn’t have these little things that would trickle down into like, ‘Oh, I have the potential to meet the President of the United States of America.’”
