Senior Haleigh Henry-Fewell has been known by many to be a positive leader in the Westside community. At school, Henry-Fewell has been involved with DECA and athletic training for all the sports.

“She’s one of the most genuine students that I’ve met,” Henry-Fewell’s marketing teacher Katie Harmon said. “Having a conversation with her, you know that she’s in that moment with you and truly cares about you.”

Henry-Fewell has also been a leader and active participate in a club outside of the high school campus, the Westside Boys and Girls Club. Henry-Fewell said that the club has been an influential part of her life for a long time.

“My mom has actually worked at the club my whole life,” Henry-Fewell said. “My parents met at the Boys and Girls Club, I obviously wouldn’t be alive if the club never existed. [The club is a] super big part of my life, I’ve been going there since I can remember.”

Before Henry-Fewell was busy with training, she said that a typical day at the club consists of working on homework and then spending time with the close-knit community at the club.

“They have a homework help program, so I would definitely do that first thing,” Henry-Fewell said. “Then I just hang out, it’s just a fun place to be with your friends after school. Things that kids face today, you don’t really have to go through any of that when you’re at the club. I definitely really enjoy it.”

Due to Henry-Fewell’s 13 year long dedication to the club, and her estimated 1,000 volunteer hours in 2017, she has been named the Westside Boys and Girls Club “Youth of the Year.”

“There are a few different boys and girls clubs in Omaha, and then there’s ones in Council Bluffs and Carter Lake, Iowa,” Henry-Fewell said. “Each one picks a kid, like an active member in their program that is just there all the time and does a lot of stuff for the program. Then we all write a speech explaining how the Boys and Girls Clubs have helped us through a struggle in life or how the Boys and Girls Club is a good place for us.”

Henry-Fewell said she has learned many things about leadership and character with her involvement at the Boys and Girls Club. She said that one of the biggest lessons the club has taught her is that sometimes it is necessary to put others before yourself.

“Putting other people before yourself, I learned that a lot,” Henry-Fewell said. “ I definitely got the motivation to want to help other people and always be there for other people and do a lot for other people, or do for other people what they can’t do for themselves. I definitely am gonna carry that lesson.”

Henry-Fewell plans to apply what she has learned from her time at Westside and involvement with the Westside Boys and Girls Club, and major in athletic training at Kansas State University next year.