High School Youth of the Year Week Begins

Four high school students from Redwood City are in the running for a Youth of the Year award from . Tuesday night at 6 p.m. local judges will decide who will represent Redwood City in the regional finals on Friday.

“This isn’t a Phi Beta Kappa honor roll contest,” said Peter Fortenbaugh, executive director of the .

“The real key is that they are trending in the right direction, making smart decisions with their lives and being good role models for others,” he said.

Diamante Horton and Ruby Cook--seniors at -- and Perla del Rio and Rossmeri Ramirez--Juniors at -- are the candidates from Redwood City.

The high schoolers qualified for the award for a few reasons. In addition to the obligatory essay submission, they display resilience of character, have overcome substantial obstacles and have been members of the Boys & Girls Club for years.

They will deliver speeches tonight for a panel of judges which includes:
City Councilmember Jeff Ira; Adobe's Vice President of Global Marketing Anne Lewnes; Redwood City School District Superintendent Jan Christensen; Ted Schlein, Managing Partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers; and Dan Rosensweig, former CEO of Guitar Hero and now at Chegg.com.

The four will also engage in conversations about their futures with each of the judges for about 15 minutes.

Tonight, judges will select a representative from Menlo Park out of three candidates. On Wednesday, judges, including Condoleeza Rice, will select one from East Palo Alto out of four qualified students.

The finals will be held on Friday.

All participants receive a $500 scholarship for education from the Boys and Girls Club, and each clubhouse winner receives a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship. The BGCP Youth of the Year receives a plaque and a $1,500 scholarship from BGCP.

“This isn’t about a winner or a loser, Fortenbaugh said. “It’s about the process of having kids learn to articulate life goals, speak in public, and have one-on-one interviews with a senior executive. It’s not just a beauty contest."

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