Lopez-Duarte was honored with a reception at Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua on Tuesday, May 13. About 90 Club members, staffers, donors, dignitaries, board members, and friends of the club gathered to recognize Lopez-Duarte with the club’s highest honor, according to a press release.
"The National Youth of the Year program, a Boys & Girls Clubs of America initiative, honors Club members for developing superior leadership skills, overcoming personal challenges, achieving academic excellence, and performing outstanding service to the Club and the community," representatives said in the release.
"As a ten-year member of the Club, Lopez-Duarte, now 17, has shown outstanding dedication to BGCNW, her high school, and her community. Lopez-Duarte has volunteered more than 300 hours of services since 2011 and is president of Liberty Keystone, a teen group that provides opportunities to gain valuable leadership and service experience," representatives said.
Lopez-Duarte is president of her Spanish Club and plays and important role in planning the Multi-Cultural Week at Fox Lane, according to the release.
“As a young member of the Club, I was a follower, but I have learned to be a leader in the programs and activities I’ve participated in,” Lopez-Duarte said. “I could not imagine the kind of person I would be without this Club.” BGCNW board President R. Todd Rockefeller presented proclamations to Lopez-Duarte, each of the three Youth of the Year finalists – Nethmi DeSilva, Akilah Figueroa, and Isaiah Figueroa – and Chris Cutri Award recipient Justique Carter, according to the release.
Lopez-Duarte will be honored as the BGCNW’s Youth of the Year at the 2014 Humanitarian Award Dinner Saturday, June 7, at Lexus of Mount Kisco.