Kalyn Landreth is an 18-year-old girl from Pleasant Grove, Ala. who has beaten the odds with the help of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama.

 

Kalyn and her 14-year-old brother Bryan have been raised by only their father for the last 7 years. “It was hard growing up in a single parent family, you not only have just one parent, but you also don’t have a second income,” Kalyn said. Kalyn’s father like herself attended the Boys & Girls Club and credits it for keeping him out of trouble. “The Boys & Girls Club has been more than an after school program it has been a driving force in my life and I wouldn’t be where I am today with out it,” Kayln said.

 

This May, Kalyn graduated from Pleasant Grove High School with a 3.0 GPA. Kalyn’s future looks bright as she began attending University of Montevallo this August. Kalyn was also recently awarded a three-thousand dollar scholarship and a laptop computer for being named Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Alabama Youth of the Year. She also received first runner up in the Alabama State Youth of the Year award.

 

“Kalyn personifies what the Boys & Girls Club experience is all about. She has grown into an extraordinary leader, a young lady of strong character and determination, and one of the nicest people anyone could ever meet,” Kim Turner, Vice-President of Development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama said.

 

Kalyn will be majoring in elementary education while at school, and hopes to give back to youth like the Boys & Girls Club did for her one day. “I have grown into who I am because of the Boys & Girls Club,” Kalyn said.