(Rochester, Minnesota) Boys & Girls Club of Rochester is proud to announce Baylie Chappuis is Minnesota’s 2023 Youth of the Year. The award was announced at the Boys & Girls Clubs Minnesota Alliance event on April 15, 2021.

Baylie is a strong leader who is involved in Club’s dance programming and truly embodies the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester values of leadership, service, academic excellence, and healthy lifestyles. She exemplifies the critical impact that Boys & Girls Club of Rochester has on the lives of young people in our community. We are confident that Baylie will continue to be a leader and a force of positive change for our Boys & Girls Club of Rochester community as she continues her journey towards high school graduation and beyond. 

Baylie is a junior at Century High School and has been a Club member for 6 years. She has aspirations to become an RN and hopes to study nursing at the University of Minnesota Rochester in the coming year. When asked about how she exhibits leadership being at Club, Baylie says, “A huge way I communicate and show leadership is through the dance program here at Club. It has given me the determination to become a better leader and person. The dance team is my second family.” 

Baylie has overcome personal challenges while attending Club. “It is incredibly easy for me to love others but something I struggle with in life is self-love,” Baylie says, “My Club mentor has taught me to love not only others but myself. With her help, I truly believe in myself now and I feel confident in a way I didn’t before. 

“When my dad passed away from a drug overdose in the summer of 2021, the first and only place I went to that day was Club. The first person I told was my mentor. Club has a very special place in my heart. The staff and Club members are my family and I am beyond grateful for my Club experience.” 

Baylie’s leadership has long been recognized among staff at Boys & Girls Club. “Baylie embodies resiliency,” Director of Programs, Samuel Hawkins shares, “She employs the strengths and strategies she has learned at Club to face adversity with confidence. She’s an expert at leveraging resources and has become an effective leader for other Club youth. For example, her dedication to her academic success encourages younger Club youth to find passion and purpose in their schoolwork as well.  

“The mission of Club is written on [Baylie’s] heart. By focusing on her own journey, she inspires others.” 

As Minnesota’s Youth of the Year, Baylie will go to Chicago for the Regional Youth of the Year competition in June. If named the Regional Youth of the Year, Baylie will go on to contend for the title of National Youth of the Year. To learn more about the youth of the year program, visit the Boys & Girls Club of America website at https://www.bgca.org/.