GHS Senior Deejay Thompson was named Youth of the Year for California through Boys and Girls Clubs of America this spring, in recognition of his status as a young leader, role model and outstanding citizen. Originally nominated by staff at the Gateway High Boys and Girls Club San Francisco site, Deejay said that, for him, even accepting the challenge was a sign of just how far he had come since his freshmen year at GHS.
“I knew what Youth of the Year was because my friend Masiyah (GHS Class of 2020) was Gateway’s nominee last year, she would talk about the process and it sounded so complex,” he said. “I remember thinking ‘Well, good luck with that. That would be too much for me.’ But when (BGCSF leader) Ms. DeDe texted me about this great opportunity, I felt like this would be a good way to push myself.”
As Gateway’s nominee, Deejay first competed against prospective Youths of the Year from San Francisco’s nine other BGCSF Clubhouses for the citywide title. This process involved writing several essays about Deejay’s values and obstacles he had faced on his way to preparing for college, preparing for in-person interviews about his challenges and goals, and writing and delivering a speech about how he came to define success for himself as a young Black man.
“Even though the actual interviews and speech were virtual, it was still a pretty nerve-wracking experience at first,” he said. “I was in front of a computer but I felt like I was in an auditorium in the dark with the spotlight on me… and I’m being very vulnerable with strangers, sharing things that are very dear to me. And it was my first time wearing a suit, which was kind of scary too!”
Nerves or not, Deejay wowed not only the local judges, who named him San Francisco’s 2021 Youth of the Year, but the Northern California and State judging panels as well, as he picked up two more Youth of the Year titles before finishing in the competition for the Pacific Region.
“I would have liked to make it all the way to the National competition, but I’ve learned so much and come so far from that guy who watched his friend and said ‘that could never be me,’” he said. “I’m so grateful for the experience, for my mom being able to see me go through this, it’s been overwhelming.”
In addition to the support he received from BGCSF staff, Deejay credits his Gateway education with preparing him to take on the challenge of the competition.
“Gateway taught me to be comfortable with challenging myself,” he said. “My Gateway teachers pushed me to take honors and AP classes for the first time ever, and when I actually did well in them, it was like something switched on for me. It made me want to try taking on more challenges in school and out of school as well.”
Deejay earned more than $10,000 in scholarships through his participation in the Youth of the Year program, which will come in handy when he begins his freshman year at Texas Southern University this fall to major in computer science. This summer he’ll be studying game design through Mission Bit and participating in an internship at Salesforce.
“I’ve always wanted to branch out and go to college out of state,” he said. “I just know so much is about to happen, so much is about to change. It’s almost kind of scary, but I’m going to keep working my hardest and I know it will all be good.”