Kymbre Sanders, 17, was recently selected the Oprah Winfrey Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year and will represent the organization throughout 2018.
Sanders was originally a member of the Snoopy Club from age 4-8, when the club was housed on Tipton Street in Kosicusko. She then moved to Pennsylvania before returning to Kosciusko in 2015.
Following the passing of her mother, Yolanda Sanders, in 2015, she returned to Kosciusko to live with her grandmother and rejoined the club in its new location.
“This new club helped me make friends and get to know people and open up to people,” she said. “When I came back, it made me feel at home. It brought back memories and I enjoy it. It is something positive to do.”
She is now a member of the club’s Blue Diamonds dance group and helps out with the basketball team.
Academically, Sanders is a good student at Kosciusko High School, where she maintains mostly As and Bs as a senior.
Scoring a 32 on her ASVAB exam, Sanders plans to join the military upon graduation and use miliary benefits to attend college after she completes her service.
“I plan on going into the Army or the Air Force and go to college for mechanical engineering or technical engineering. I’ve always been interested in it and they’re going to help pay for college,” she said.
She said the club and the adults there have helped her succeed.
“There are a lot of adults helping me...a lot of people I look up to here, like Mr. (Randy) Fuller,” she said.
Sanders will represent the club in state competition early next year, competing against 18 other Mississippi boys’ and girls’ clubs. If successful there, she will represent the state in regional competition in Atlanta.
“She will be the face of the club for the entire year,” said Iretis Mallet, the club’s program director.
KHS sophomore Cameron Skinner was runner-up.
