Cantero will serve as spokesperson for B&G Club's Latino Outreach
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

Finalists of the Youth of the Year gather in the White House press room for a group photo. Pictured, from left to right, are Demetrice Tuttle, National Winner (Georgia); Brittny Cantero, Southwest Region Finalist (Texas); Gino Binkert, Northeast Region Finalist (Pennsylvania); Sasha Andersen, Pacific Region Finalist (Arizona). Not pictured is Reyniesha Sharp, Midwest Region Finalist (Illinois).

Brittny Cantero fell short this week of being named the Boys & Girls Club's National Youth of the Year, but she doesn't see it as a failure.

As one of five finalists - out of thousands of club members from across the nation - Cantero made history as the firstever Latina to reach that level.

The achievement has earned her the role of spokesperson for the club's national Latino Outreach program. For the next year, she will travel to New York, California and other parts of the country in an effort to reach more Hispanics.

Serving as a role model is something she embraces. During her stay in Washington D.C. this past week, she did an interview on a national Hispanic radio network. Doing an all- Spanish interview on live radio wasn't exactly a cakewalk. Cantero said she had to fall back on the lessons she learned in Dr. Elaine Sharp's advanced Spanish classes at Wharton High School.

It was an eye-opening experience. And it was one that gave Cantero a brief glimpse into the impact her accomplishments have already had on thousands of people - most of whom have never even met her.

"It's this amazing feeling to be able to impact lives," she said.

She's been doing that since becoming a Boys & Girls Club of Wharton staff member three years ago. With little family support, Cantero worked two jobs to support herself while maintaining a 4.2 GPA in high school and participating in a host of extracurricular activities.

At the club, she led the arts and crafts program, taught chess and headed up "Girl Talk," a program that teaches young girls how to live healthy lifestyles and make good choices. Identifying with the children has always been easy. Many come from homes where education, healthy living and positive choices are disregarded. Cantero was raised in just such an environment.

She said the positive impact club staff have on members' lives cannot be underestimated. It was a common theme among the messages of all five finalists, Cantero said. The other finalists came from Georgia, Illinois, Arizona and Pennsylvania. The one from Georgia - Demetrice Tuttle - won the Youth of the Year title.

It was announced Wednesday morning during a Congressional breakfast. Cantero said she immediately jumped up and gave Tuttle a congratulatory hug. That was despite a momentary "let down" at not winning the title herself.

"I knew how I would have felt had I won," she said. "Everybody kept saying it came down to us two."

"All the time we were like, 'she's got it, she's got it'," added Barbie Fortenberry, a Wharton club staff member and Cantero's travel mate.

Cantero said she has nothing to regret. She said she "gave 100 percent of me" during an intensive interview process and while delivering her story to hundreds of people. Besides, just getting a chance to make the finals and spend a week in the nation's capital was a life changing experience. Not only were the candidates doted on everywhere they went, they were treated like celebrities as they were photographed and filmed throughout Washington D.C.

"Coming from a small town, you have a limited perspective. When I first joined the club, I thought it was the only one in the world," Cantero said.

She now knows better. There are actually more than 4,000 clubs that service over 4 million children nationwide. Cantero had the chance to meet some of those members and staff, most of whom live lives very different from her own.

"It's incredible to see if from another perspective, to realize there's so much more out there," she said. "It was definitely worth it. It changed my life."

Meeting President George W. Bush was the highlight of her trip. Cantero and the other finalists got to individually meet the President and spend time in the Oval Office.

She said the President appeared overjoyed to see a finalist came from Texas, where he served as governor for six years.

"He said, 'I'm very proud of you'," Cantero said.

She said the President even requested to have her stand next to him in a group photograph. She believes they had a true "Texas connection."

Cantero gave the President a bandana for his dog and a keychain, both of which contained the Texas A&M logo. Cantero is a freshman at A&M, majoring in Biology.

"He just had this huge smile on his face," she said.

Cantero headed back to College Station Friday night after visiting with relatives, friends and local club members in Wharton. She has over a week's worth of assignments to make up, including three exams.

"After all of this, I will go back and bury my head in books," she said.

She'll do so with a new found sense of direction and zest. The contest showed her she has an important role to serve, one that can make a positive difference in the lives of so many.

"I'm getting to do all these things for youth. I don't need that national title to allow me to do these things," Cantero said.

"I'm ready to have a life of purpose."