An 18-year-old who arrived from the Dominican Republic at age 8 speaking little English has been named the 2026 National Youth of the Year by Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Enrique Rosario Liz, a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County, is now a University of Florida freshman. He won the national title in New York in early October and he is the first national winner from St. Lucie County.
“It’s such a mind blowing experience, such an amazing opportunity,” Rosario Liz said. “I’ve been in the Youth of the Year program for four years now, and the kind of recognition that it is to be named at the national level is so amazing.”
He said the honor reaches beyond him. “It just goes to show that organizations like the Boys and Girls Club really are recognizing youth who are working in their communities, who are trying to make this world a better place.”
Marissa Gleockler Chief Development and Communications Officer with Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County, said the club is celebrating along with him.
“We have gotten to see him grow so much in his time since he’s been with us at the club, and we’re all over the moon,” she said. “We are all just kind of riding this wave with him and cheering him along every step of the way.”
Rosario Liz was also the club’s first regional winner from St. Lucie County, she said.
Rosario Liz’s family moved to the United States in the summer of 2016. He said he had taken a few English classes in the Dominican Republic, but not enough to feel comfortable.
He remembers lining up for his first day of school. “Everybody is speaking fluent English. And I am in the corner and I feel completely lost,” he said. “I could not feel more different from anybody else.”
He said that feeling put pressure on him as a young child. “It was going to take a lot of work for me to be where I needed to be.”
Rosario Liz was 12 when he first walked into his local Boys & Girls Club. His older brother, Manuel, had started volunteering there for high school and urged him to join the teen program.
He hesitated. He was in middle school, playing soccer and doing theater, and the COVID-19 pandemic had only recently eased. But he made the 10-minute walk to the club with his brother.
“Immediately I could tell there was such a strong community there,” he said. “All the staff, all of the other teens who I was interacting with immediately wanted me to be part of everything that they had going on.”
He joined Keystone, a teen program focused on advocacy, community service and fundraising. He was elected its president as a freshman and held the role all four years of high school.
One project, a “cuisine around the world” night, provided dinners from different countries and gave parents who sometimes struggle to feed their families more affordable options.
Rosario Liz also entered the Youth of the Year program as a freshman. He said he did not see himself as a leader at first.
With his advisers, he settled on a platform built on his own experience.
“How can I expand resources for all youth based on the limiting experiences that I had as an immigrant?” he said.
That platform carried him through the club, state and regional competitions and to the national title. “Even today, I still can’t believe that,” he said.
Rosario Liz graduated as valedictorian of Port St. Lucie High School. He took dual enrollment courses through Indian River State College starting in his sophomore year and earned his associate degree alongside his high school diploma.
At the University of Florida, he is majoring in elementary education. He said the goal goes back to age 6, when he lined up stuffed animals and tried to teach them English as he was learning it himself. At the club, he started a Spanish program that taught more than 40 children ages 5 to 10.
“I knew that that was a special group of young people that I really wanted to impact,” he said.
He plans to start in the classroom and may later move into educational leadership or education policy.
His path home is already open. As a sophomore, he became the youngest recipient of the “A Promise Is a Promise” certificate, which the St. Lucie County School Board and superintendent presented to him through his Youth of the Year work.
The program usually goes to graduating seniors interested in teaching, and it guarantees him a certified teaching position in St. Lucie Public Schools once he earns his certification.
“I know that I can always go back home,” he said.
Rosario Liz said he plans to stay involved with Boys & Girls Clubs through the alumni network and in his new national role.
“This is such an amazing organization that has given so much to me, and I always hope to give back,” he said.
Marissa said his calendar is filling up with events tied to the title. The local club will share updates so the community can follow along during his year as National Youth of the Year.
She also described the club’s approach to teens. “It’s a point of pride for us that we serve so many teens in our county,” she said. “We try to give them as many opportunities for future success as possible, whether that’s an internship or teaching soft skills or building their resume with certifications.”
Asked what he would tell children who arrive in a new country as he did, Rosario Liz said the first thing is that it will be okay.
He said one of his biggest struggles was being afraid to be himself. “I was ashamed of saying that I was Dominican or that I was Hispanic, of speaking my native Spanish tongue or even saying my name correctly,” he said.
“If you’re not showing your true face, then you are limiting yourself, and you are limiting opportunities for others to meet a very beautiful person.”
Rosario Liz said the support from home followed him to New York. “Seeing from back home all of the comments, all of the posts with my community supporting me have been so amazing, because it always reminds me that wherever I go, I have this community behind me.”
Back in Gainesville, he has found another community. He has been to two Gators football games, including homecoming, though he said the result was “sadly unfortunate.” His family doesn’t follow football, but he said the fan community was part of why he chose UF.
“It reminds me a lot of the experiences I’ve had with my Boys and Girls Club.”