Junior Meradeth Reinsbach won Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County area for 2025.
“I thought it would be a really great opportunity to help people feel heard,” Reinsbach said.
This is a big responsibility for Reinsbach, since Youth of the Year is a program that aims to give a voice to the youth and put them into leadership positions.
“They have a panel of judges that come out and judge her three essays she had to write and they choose who will win the Tri-County area,” graduation specialist Eydie Reiser said.
Reinsbach focused her application materials on making sure kids were able to make their voices heard.
“If kids are going through anything I feel like their problems can get overlooked, and I want to feel like they’re being heard and what they have to say matters,” Reinsbach said.
Librarian Sarah Gumtow is someone who inspires Reinsbach to be the person that she is today.
“I think that throughout her years here at BHS, Meradeth has done an excellent job of finding creative outlets in which to let her abilities as a talented artist, musician, and creative individual shine through. Meradeth is well-spoken, intelligent, has the ability to think outside the box, and has surrounded herself with supportive peers,” Gumtow said. “These characteristics have paved the way for her to participate in activities such as Academic Decathlon, the school play, and many others. Meradeth’s involvement in a wide variety of teams, clubs, and activities have provided her with space to grow as an individual throughout her high school career.”
Reinsbach says that Gumtow is a very kind person and has always supported her throughout her highschool years.
“Meradeth is also passionate about a wide variety of interests. Last year after completing a project for her English class, Meradeth took the initiative to reach out to one of her favorite authors…and he responded back! Seeing the joy this brought her and getting to celebrate in her excitement with her is probably one of my favorite memories I have of Meradeth,” Gumtow said.
Reinsbach chose to talk about mental health because she went through a lot growing up and she wants other kids and students to feel like they are not alone.
“My next step after this is going to compete to win state. This is where I will either move on to be the state Youth of the Year or continue being the Boys & Girl’s club of the Tri-County area Youth of the Year,” Reinsbach said.
Reinsbach’s goal of winning Youth of the Year will be to try her best at state and make her voice heard at nationals.
“If I make it to nationals I would be very excited to be able to speak at other conferences and have the opportunity to interact with other individuals with similar ideas,” Reinsbach said.
State is March 14th through March 16th.
