INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Young men and women on Friday made their way to the Hyatt Regency Downtown for the Boys & Girls Club’s Indiana State Youth of the Year awards luncheon.

Sixteen people from around the state were nominated for the award. The accolade acknowledges outstanding Indiana Boys & Girls Club members from age 14-18 for their leadership, community service, and academic excellence.

Dr. Mieasha Hicks Barksdale, a former National Youth of the Year, said, “The purpose of the Youth of the Year is to help to inspire those teen youth that are at the Boys & Girls Club to realize their full potential as productive, responsible caring citizens, and, in addition to , it gives them an opportunity to learn more about themselves, and, at the same time, they become the role model and the example of what the Boys & Girls Club produces.”

The top award recipient receives $7,500 in scholarships and one full year of tuition at Ivy Tech Community College. The winner also will go on to represent Indiana in a regional competition.

This story is from a script aired on WISH-TV.