Boys & Girls Clubs 2022 Youth of the Year finalist: Kamiya Archie

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley is preparing to name their Youth of the Year winner Thursday night.

WTVM News Leader 9 is once again proud to partner with the organization to help bring you this event and highlight this year’s finalists.

Now, we introduce you to Kamiya Archie, a second-time finalist who’s hoping to bring home the trophy in 2022.

“I’m just a girl who loves to try everything,” Archie said.

The 16-year-old credits the Boys and Girls Clubs with helping her be the person she is today.

She’s been a member for 10 years and says being a part of the club helped her overcome her shyness and feelings sometimes of being an outcast.

“The Boys and Girls Clubs have helped me boost my confidence and help me with my communications skills

“I learned to open up to people I was able to better my communications,” she said. “They showed a different side of me, they really truly made me come out of my shell.”

And there are many sides it seems of this 11th grade dance student at Rainey McCullers school of the Arts in Columbus. A self-taught dancer, she loves hip hop and ballet, but says right now she can’t decide whether she wants to be a dancer or lawyer.

“I have that type of mentality that tells me you don’t have to put yourself in one box you can push out in the community and I feel there’s a lot you can do as a teen,” Archie said.

Community is very important to Kamiya. She says it hurts when she sees the growing violence in Columbus and teens on the wrong track.

Many, she says, would truly benefit from being a part of the Boys and Girls Clubs.

“It’s a safe place for us teenagers to be with all the shootings going on,” Archie said. “So, its a safe place for us to be. So, I really like attending there.”

It’s like a big family, she says. The Boys and Girls Clubs are helping to fill the void that many young people may have in their lives.

Kamiya was also a Youth of the Year finalist last year and she says, with the help of the Boys and Girls Clubs, she’s come a long way since then.

She’s a lot more confident and ready to take on the world.

“I’m not afraid to go out. I’m not afraid to not try something new like skydiving or something,” Archie said.

Kamiya is one of four finalists hoping to be the next Youth of the Year for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley.

The winner will go on to compete on the state and possibly national level.

Copyright 2022 WTVM. All rights reserved.