photo by: Courtesy of Jason Dailey Photography

The 2023 Lawrence Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year candidates, from left to right: Arabella Gipp, La’Ron Williams, Chloe Clossen, Ohene Danso and Audrey Rice.

Five local high school students will vie for the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence’s 2023 Youth of the Year award next week, including last year’s winner of the statewide Youth of the Year contest.

This year’s local Youth of the Year ceremony is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Liberty Hall. The nominees for this year’s award are Free State High School junior La’Ron Williams; Free State High School sophomore Chloe Clossen; Free State High School sophomore Ohene Danso; Free State High School senior Audrey Rice; and Lawrence High School sophomore Arabella Gipp, who won both the Lawrence and statewide honors last year.

According to a news release from the Lawrence club, Youth of the Year is the “premier” recognition program for Boys & Girls Clubs across the country and requires nominees to exhibit leadership, academic excellence and a healthy lifestyle.

“I often refer to Youth of the Year as ‘the best thing we do,’ and it’s true every year,” Monica Dittmer, the CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, said in the release. “These five candidates are exceptional young people, and I can’t wait for the whole world to know it on Thursday.”

The ceremony is free and open to the public. On the day of the ceremony, each candidate will be interviewed by a panel of judges, who will also score their essay submissions and answers to other short-answer questions. The five candidates will then present individual speeches to the audience during the ceremony itself.

The winner of the local competition will advance to represent Lawrence in the state competition, where they will be competing for a spot at the regional contest. Lawrence’s club has produced the Kansas Youth of the Year six times in the last 10 years.

Here’s some more information about the candidates, according to the Boys & Girls Club’s release:

* Arabella Gipp, the daughter of Jessica Gipp, won the Lawrence Youth of the Year and Kansas Youth of the Year titles last year. At school, she’s involved in volleyball, debate, NAACP youth council and Lawrence Public Schools’ student mental health advocacy group. She also works part-time at the Boys & Girls Club’s Center for Great Futures. Gipp plans to attend Stanford University to major in political science and hopes to become an activist or politician.

* La’Ron Williams, the son of Contressa and Jermell Williams, is a regular attendee at the Center for Great Futures, where he enjoys playing sports and volunteering with the club’s teen program, the Keystone Club. Williams plans to attend the University of Kansas and major in creative writing.

* Chloe Clossen, the daughter of Jessica Clossen, plays on her school’s basketball and softball teams. She plans to become a nurse and is still narrowing down her choice of colleges; her list includes KU, the University of North Carolina and the University of Notre Dame.

* Ohene Danso, the son of Naomi and Alfred Danso, was one of the candidates for last year’s Lawrence Youth of the Year. Danso plans on majoring in information technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and hopes to become a professional volleyball player.

* Audrey Rice, the daughter of Kimberly Abbey, works for the Boys & Girls Club as a group leader at its Sunset Hill Elementary site. Rice will graduate from high school this December and aspires to be a professional athlete or travel nurse. She plans to attend KU and major in nursing.