Lawrence’s 2026 Youth of the Year and Junior Youth of the Year titles have been claimed by Laila Reetz and Jensen Aitken, respectively.
Reetz, a sophomore at Free State High School, earned the Youth of the Year title at the Boys & Girls Club ceremony Tuesday.
As a young child, Reetz said she couldn’t see her birth mother who struggled with substance use issues. Reetz said the situation affected her mentally, especially as she entered middle school.
Reetz said her time in the club gave her a support system and empowered her to participate more. She tried out for the cheerleading team at Free State and, even though she didn’t make it, she went on to join the girls’ wrestling team and fall in love with the sport.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Going forward, she looks forward to continuing to be a mentor to her younger siblings. She’s considering a career as a children’s therapist and has her sights set on the University of Tennessee.
Please support
The Lawrence Times!
Subscribe here.
“These experiences have motivated me to want to help others thrive and encourage people to participate,” she said.
She concluded her speech saying “I want everyone to believe the word ‘yet,’ because although you might not believe in yourself yet, you will get there.”
Reetz will advance to represent Lawrence at the statewide Youth of the Year competition in March, vying for a spot at regionals and then nationals.
For the first time this year, the ceremony awarded Junior Youth of the Year concurrently with their senior counterpart. The junior program is a practice on-ramp for kids who may be future Youths of the Year.
Eleven fifth graders, one from each of the local elementary school BGC sites, gave two-minute speeches about the impact the club has had on their lives and personal growth.
Aitken, a student at Woodlawn and the Junior Youth of the Year, gave a speech focused on the value of being kind, even when others aren’t watching.
He’s attended BGC since kindergarten and said that he loved participating in the club’s Lights On! dance competition. Even when his team didn’t place two years ago, he said they learned teamwork. This year, they placed second, and for Aitken, it “felt like magic.”
The audience, composed of candidates’ friends, family and community members, also enjoyed additional speeches from Youth of the Year and junior runners-up.
As Leah Anderson, a junior at Free State, crossed the stage, she blew air kisses to a crowd full of loved ones who stood to clap and cheer for her.
Anderson wants to go on to be a counselor or therapist, and is considering attending the University of Kansas. She said that the club has given her a vision of what she wants for her future.
She told a story of being bullied when she switched schools in fifth grade — another girl picked on her for her hair, skin and how she squinted to see the board. One day, Anderson helped her bully braid her hair. Even though it didn’t put an end to the other girl’s behavior, Anderson said the braid became a symbol as she learned to open up about her self-esteem and not judge others.
After taking a deep, steadying breath, Free State senior Olivia Abbey boldly introduced herself: “My name is Olivia Abbey, but everyone calls me Liv.”
When Abbey was 10, her father died. She said his birthday is a hard day every year, but she’s grateful for the folks at BGC who have shown her guidance and support, helping her to grow into her own.
“I would tell everyone this: Be kind,” Abbey said. “… Everyone deserves to be loved for who they are, no matter their skin color, hair, pronouns or anything else that makes them unique.”
Will Diepenbrock from Quail Run Elementary was second place runner-up for the junior competition, and Sage Leiva from Sunflower Elementary placed third.
Diepenbrock braved a mic outage to speak to the power of not stereotyping people based on their gender. Leiva, who is Cuban and Brazilian, said that the folks at BGC accept him for who he is.
Arabella Gipp also addressed the crowd during a program intermission. She won Lawrence Youth of the Year three times and was named the statewide winner in 2022. Now, she’s a full-time student at Johnson County Community College studying liberal and fine arts, and she’s a group leader at the New York Elementary club program.
“I learned how to have a voice, speak in front of others, manage time wisely, and, most importantly, overcome my anxieties,” she said, before wishing the Youth of the Year contestants well.
The ceremony was graced with dance routines from teams that competed in BGC’s annual Lights On! Competition, with a recent theme of “Once Upon a Vibe.” The third place team from Quail Run Elementary performed a “Cars”-inspired routine; Woodlawn Elementary, second place, shimmied to a “The Lion King” medley; and Deerfield Elementary, first place, did flips to “The Princess and the Frog” music.
Reetz’s winning title was bestowed by a panel of local judges including Maley Wilkins, Janine Colter, David Hansen, Demetria White, Je’Ney Jackson and Shaye Downing. The judges reviewed all senior candidate essays and interviewed them prior to the ceremony Tuesday.
Andrew Madl, Breanna Bell, Ozel Soykan, Megan Hill and Cathie Britain went through a condensed evaluation process judging the junior competition.
Other students nominated for the junior program include Madison Thuma, Cordley Elementary; Izzy Wichman, Deerfield Elementary; Alex Garcia, Hillcrest Elementary; Jordan Johnson, Langston Hughes Elementary; Naomi Quinteros, New York Elementary; Cj Davison Symmonds, Prairie Park Elementary; Stella McCall, Schwegler Elementary; and Emma Reddell, Sunset Hill Elementary.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.
Nathan Kramer (he/him), a multimedia student journalist for The Lawrence Times since August 2024, is a senior at Free State High School. He is also a news photo editor for Free State’s student publication, where he works as a videographer, photographer and motion designer. See more of his work for the Times here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
