WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. – Warren Guess II, a sophomore in high school, was recently named the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County’s Youth of the Year.

This is the organization’s highest honor recognizing teen leadership, service, and academic achievement.

The selection process includes written essays, a formal speech, and an interview in front of judges, with winners announced at an annual Impact Banquet.

For Guess, the experience represented both recognition and personal growth.

“The club built me into the leader I am today through programs that I did there, such as being the Torch Club member, a CIT at the summer camp, and being a junior helper,” he said.

Guess said preparing for the competition was unfamiliar territory, as it was his first time writing a formal essay and delivering a judged speech. After being nominated, he worked through essays and interviews before presenting his speech to judges during a 15-minute evaluation.

“It was really tough leading up to the award, especially the first time in the local area because it was like a suspense thing,” he said.

He said the speech focused heavily on personal growth through the club and how those experiences shaped his future goals.

"My speech was about how when I first started going to the club, I was really shy," Guess said. "And the club built me into the leader I am today through the programs that I did there."

Guess said he also focused on how he hopes to give back to the community.

He first joined the Boys & Girls Club around 2017, when his family moved back to Richmond and needed an affordable after-school option. He said adjusting at first was difficult.

“It was really tough at first because I didn’t know anybody and I would go in and the first few times I was scared and sad when my parents left,” Guess said. “Eventually, the staff helped me and I made friends.”

Over time, Guess became a regular presence at the club, though his involvement has shifted as he’s taken on sports and school responsibilities, including football and bowling.

Now, he says his role at the club looks different than it did when he was younger.

“When I’m at the club, the kids come up to me and ask me questions. I was recently in one of the game rooms…I was making paper airplanes with them and teaching them how,” he said.

Leading by example as an older member of the club, Guess offered his own advice for younger children.

“Do your work in school and pay attention. That’s the main one. But be yourself. Don’t change yourself for other people or let other people change you so you can fit in with them,” he said.

Looking ahead, Guess hopes to continue growing within the organization, including joining Keystone, a teen leadership program through the Boys & Girls Club.

Guess said attending the state competition also changed how he viewed leadership and community involvement, by hearing from mentors and members across Indiana.

"It really motivated me to get some of their ideas into my Boys & Girls Club," he said.

One program he hopes to bring back to the local clubs includes Passport to Manhood, something Guess said he once benefited from.

“It taught young men or young boys the value of being a man and what it means to be a man. I think that was a really good program,” Guess said.

Beyond the club, Guess plans to pursue college and major in psychology, saying he is interested in how people think and behave. He also plans to take college-credit courses in psychology and English next school year.

His experiences, he said, have shaped how he views leadership and responsibility. Now mentoring younger kids himself, Guess believes strong guidance plays a key role in shaping youth development.

“The youth needs guidance, and the people that need to guide them are parents. It all starts with the parents,” he said. “People complain about the kids being bad, but it all starts with the parents.”