She was a shy and bullied girl. How she became a leader and Youth of the Year in Columbus
When she started attending the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley as a 6-year-old, Chaniya Davis was a shy girl reluctant to interact with other kids. Eleven years later, she has been selected to represent them — approximately 2,500 club members.
Chaniya, a senior at Carver High School, is the BGCCV Youth of the Year. Her transformation from wallflower to leader exemplifies the impact the nonprofit organization makes on children ages 5-18 at eight facilities throughout Columbus.
“This journey has given me a lot of opportunities, a lot of meaningful relationships,” Chaniya, 17, told the Ledger-Enquirer. “So I’m thankful for everything I’ve been given and poured into, all the staff and club members that have accepted me for who I am.”
Now, when she sees younger club members who remind her of the shy girl she was, Chaniya encourages them with words, such as: “Be your true self. Don’t worry about what other people think of you because in the long run their opinions won’t matter. They won’t matter as much as your future.”
Thanks to inspiration from working as a junior BGCCV staff member, Chaniya’s future includes wanting to become an elementary school teacher.
“It helped me realize that I have the ability to impact youth,” she said.
And thanks to the full scholarship from Columbus Technical College and an extra $2,500 from the family of the late J. Barnett Woodruff Jr., Chaniya can afford the college education she needs to pursue that career. After attending Columbus Tech for two years, she plans to transfer to Savannah State University.
Chaniya explained why she wants to be a teacher.
“I feel like if I’m in the classroom, I’m able to teach kids new things and impact them positively,” she said. “I feel like they’ll take that energy to their hearts and be able to give back to their community.”
From being bullied to boosting others
As the Youth of the Year, Chaniya wants to emphasize to other club members the importance of developing confidence while helping their friends do the same.
“I’ve seen youth judge other people for just being themselves,” she said. “That could get them to think, ‘Oh, I’m not good enough,’ or, ‘I need to be like another person.’ I feel like that’s not always true. It’s good to be your true self. … If you just be yourself, focus on what you have going on, focus on your goals, you will attract the right crowd.”
Chaniya shared with a group at the BGCCV Teen Center her experience of being bullied in elementary school and middle school and how club staff members helped her persevere and rise above it.
They told her, she recalled, “It’s OK to be shy, but it’s also OK to open up and be a butterfly. … It kind of made me feel safe and made me feel I can do this. I can open up. I can be myself.”
Compassionate staff
Whether it was the big hugs she received from Robbin Reed or the communication skills she learned from Vareck Moody or the leadership techniques she learned from Antonio Pace, BGCCV staff members poured positive vibes into Chaniya. That’s why she wants to give back and pay forward such mentoring.
While her confidence grew, Chaniya increasingly felt more secure, more comfortable, at the club. She felt she belonged. She felt loved, supported and motivated. This was a place to help her become a better version of herself.
All of which empowered her to make new friends and show her authentic personality.
Through the BGCCV’S Keystone Club, she learned financial management as treasurer and leadership as president. She also did community service activities such as picking up trash along the Chattahoochee River and giving snacks to nursing home residents.
“The club made me realize that it’s not just one place that you can make a difference,” she said.
As a junior staff member, Chaniya provided programs and services for youth during the club’s summer camp. She developed activities for club members and helped them resolve conflicts. She implemented a concession stand at the Teen Center to raise money for the Keystone Club.
Selection process
The BGCCV Youth of the Year selection process includes:
- An application packet comprising three essays and two recommendation letters.
- Writing and delivering a three-minute speech about their club experience, a platform they want to champion and an obstacle they overcame.
- Answering questions during an interview of 5-7 minutes with the selection committee. Candidates are asked about their academic success, healthy lifestyle, leadership, community service and personal growth.
BGCCV vice president Tavari Turner told the Ledger-Enquirer the committee chose Chaniya as Youth of the Year among three candidates.
“The selection committee was impressed with how well-spoken she was, the poise with which she conducted herself and how powerful she was able to deliver her speech during the oratorical portion of the judging night,” he wrote in an email. “Chaniya also received several stellar recommendations which contributed to her application in a meaningful way.”
Selection committee members were: Brenda Williams, southwest Georgia outreach director for Sen. Raphael Warnock’s office; Crystal Shahid, market president for Truist; and Aline Lasseter, executive director of the Piedmont Columbus Regional Foundation.
In his recommendation letter, Pace described Chaniya as “talented, caring, intuitive, dedicated and focused in her pursuits.”
She has a 3.7 grade-point average at Carver, where she is the National Honor Society chapter historian.
“Chaniya consistently seeks out constructive feedback so she can improve herself, which is a rare and impressive quality in a high school student,” Pace wrote. “Chaniya is truly a standout individual who will impress everyone she meets.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 2:39 PM.
