photo by: Photo courtesy of Jeff Burkhead, Backstory Photography

Arabella Gipp speaks during Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence's 2022 Youth of the Year event.

For Arabella Gipp, Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence is more than just an after-school program; it’s her “chosen family.”

Gipp, a freshman at Lawrence High School, was selected last week as the club’s 2022 Youth of the Year.

Even with a week under her belt to process her new title, Gipp said she was still in disbelief. That much was true when she first heard her name called.

“I was like, ‘Huh?'” Gipp said. “I was so confused. Like who did you just say? Honestly, in videos that you see of me (when they announced it), you see me not notice it, not realizing it. And you see in my face when it actually clicked.”

From here, Gipp will be a candidate for the state Youth of the Year contest in about a month. She said for now, she’s not worrying too much about it, just looking forward to representing Lawrence.

photo by: Photo courtesy of Jeff Burkhead, Backstory Photography

Arabella Gipp, center, is pictured here with her mother, Jess, and mentor Ruth Gathunguri. Gipp said she sees the people at Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence as her “chosen family,” thanks in part to people like her mentor.

Gipp has been coming to Boys & Girls Club since she was 5 years old and a kindergartener, bringing her to a whole decade of participation today.

That long of a history means Gipp has made many connections over the years with mentors and fellow club members. Some of them, like a summer youth leader from when Gipp was between fifth and sixth grade, came to the event last week to support her. Her elementary site coordinator was there, too.

“Everyone (was there), from when I was really little to now,” Gipp said.

Coming to the Teen Center has been her favorite part of her time with Boys & Girls Club, Gipp said, especially during the summer program. She said the summer program usually brings anywhere from 20 to 50 teens together every day, less traffic compared to during the school year, but that leads to the group getting really close.

“Everyone literally knows everybody,” Gipp said. “It’s like you’re living in a small town and everyone knows about your business. Everyone knows everything here.”

It’s a welcoming place, though, and Gipp said she’s embraced a role of helping to make that happen. She was part of the first sixth grade class to come into the Teen Center when it opened and now is something of an ambassador for new faces.

Because Gipp said she essentially grew up at Boys & Girls Club, she thinks it’s important to show everyone what the experience can be for them and what it’s done for her. That’s also the case for new staff that comes on board, as Gipp said she tries to help show them the ropes and promote the family environment and connections they’ve built.

“Boys & Girls Club has been with me longer than some people have, longer than some people were supposed to be,” Gipp said.

Family is a common theme for Gipp when it comes to Boys & Girls Club. Her mentor, Ruth Gathunguri, simultaneously acts as a “sister, mom and best friend all rolled into one,” Gipp said. Gathunguri has been away from Lawrence attending college, but still supported Gipp from afar as she prepared for the Youth of the Year selection process. It’s a relationship Gipp said she’s sure will be a connection for a “very, very long time.”

photo by: Photo courtesy of Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence

Arabella Gipp, left, and her mentor, Ruth Gathunguri, prepare to leave Lawrence High School in style ahead of last week’s Youth of the Year event. The nominees were picked up from school in a limousine.

When Gipp’s grandmother passed away, she heard the news at Boys & Girls Club. That helped her connect with people there even more, she said. The Club’s been a constant place of stability for her, Gipp said, along with her mother, Jess.

photo by: Photo courtesy of Jeff Burkhead, Backstory Photography

Arabella Gipp talks to her mother, Jess, after being named Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence’s 2022 Youth of the Year.

“Boys & Girls Club — especially the Teen Center — is the place I can truly be myself,” Gipp said. “I normally can’t truly be myself at school. I can do it at home, but pretty much everywhere else, I kind of put on a guard. I don’t let people see my emotions very easily, I don’t let people in. But the staff here, they see me in my most vulnerable state. …They’ve seen all those sides of me, and not a lot of people have, so it’s very much a safe place for me.”

That, and being named Youth of the Year, made her realize some things she’s always known, Gipp said — how much she values the relationships, how grateful she is, why she likes being there.

Going through the Youth of the Year process with fellow nominees Free State High School freshman Ohene Danso and LHS sophomore Azura Clark also helped her realize those things, she said. They, too, are like family now; Gipp said she and Danso have a “brother-sister” relationship, and she said she knows she and Clark always have each others’ backs.

Above all, those members of Gipp’s “chosen family” — Danso, Clark, mentors like Gathunguri — have made her realize who she is as a person and the characteristics she likes being around.

“I really value the friendship and the chosen family I’ve built (around myself), because I don’t have a lot of family to be that ‘normal family,'” Gipp said. “Growing up as an only child, you always see that kind of like TV version of like a mom, a dad, a brother and a sister. …I never had that, so I always valued that I get to pick my family. I get to pick my chosen family, and I get to pick who I want to spend my time around.”