Celena Named Youth of the Year for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula

From the solemn to the celebratory, the 2025 Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula Youth of the Year Ceremony moved hundreds of BGCP supporters who attended the January 30 event at the organization's East Palo Alto Clubhouse.

The evening started in traditional BGCP style with guests entering the venue greeted by rows of BGCP youth high-fiving them (except for Andre Iguodala, four-time NBA Champion with the Golden State Warriors, who accepted lower-fives from his much shorter fans). People were prepared to party, and they did.

Still, after thanking event chairs Charlotte and Alan Waxman, BGCP CEO Jenny Obiaya solemnly spoke from the stage of challenges facing communities in Los Angeles due to the recent wildfires. Her words served as a strong reminder of how "shared purpose is the driving force of every strong community" as seen in how "Team BGCP" rallies around San Mateo County youth.

Obiaya also recognized the late Susan Wojcicki, who passed away from cancer in summer of 2024, for her long-time support of BGCP. A section of a new BGCP clubhouse complex in South San Francisco will bear Wojcicki's name to honor her legacy, a prime example of commitment to community serving as a source of uplift even in sad circumstances.

The rest of the evening continued to reflect that type of resilience as four finalists -- Celena, Esther, Richard, and Talaya -- shared their stories of overcoming adversity in speeches before the gathered crowd. Included among them was a star-studded selection panel: Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer, Meta; Emilie Choi, President & COO, Coinbase; Abby Dahlkemper, Bay FC & US Women's National Soccer Team Player; Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTube; Ohemaa Nyanin, General Manager, Golden State Valkyries; Mark Rober, Former NASA Engineer and current YouTube star; and Jennifer Tejada, CEO, PagerDuty.

Celena spoke of prejudice she faced as a student from East Palo Alto bussed into a high school in a more affluent area. Esther recalled the fear, loneliness, and invisibility she felt after migrating from Tonga. Richard addressed his family's housing insecurity, and Talaya explained her navigation of the damaging stereotypes of Black women and girls.

On top of earlier musical and hip-hop performances by BGCP youth, the interlude during selection panelists' deliberations featured a stunning display of spoken-word talent. The fundraising portion of the event brought generous energy into the room, which carried over into the panelists' expressions of praise for each Youth of the Year candidate.

All of the panelists agreed on the difficulty of choosing just one student to represent BGCP in the pursuit of the National Youth of the Year honor presented by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Then, Obiaya took the stage again and announced the selection of Celena.

The confetti rain, shrieks of surprise and delight, and instant congratulations for Celena from all of the candidates demonstrated exactly what Obiaya meant by "shared purpose as the driving force of a strong community." All of the students who participated in the Youth of the Year program proved themselves purposeful in support of each other.