FORT KNOX, Ky. — Shortly after her family moved to Fort Knox, Kayla Cowart settled into a competitive role, eventually earning top honors in both the state and local portions of the 2024 Boys & Girls Clubs of America Military Youth of the Year Competition.
Cowart said she was apprehensive when her mother came home roughly a week after their move here with a Military Youth of the Year Competition application packet and encouraged her to participate.
“At first, I was like ‘oh no, what am I getting myself into,’ but going through the competition, I’m used to it a little bit more,” said Cowart. “I can just learn from my past mistakes and do better next time.”
The competition has the same requirements at each level - four essays, a speech that each competitor gives in front of judges and other competitors, resume, academic portfolio, two letters of recommendation and an interview portion with the judges.
During the recent statewide competition in April, Cowart said she made a few small mistakes and was worried she lost her shot at the regional competition.
“I was like ‘oh my goodness, did I just ruined everything,’” she said.
Despite her perceived slip ups in the interview portion, Cowart’s competition mentor Justin Musselman, Lead Child Youth and Program Assistant (CYPA) at Devers Middle School and Teen Center, said she made up for it with her speech at the state luncheon.
“She crushed her speech at the lunch; it was flawless,” he said.
Cowart said she felt she had to finish strong not only for her supporters, but also to prove to herself that she could do the speech justice. She also had another motivation – making her dad proud.
“My dad was gone during the local competition, so this was his first time hearing my speech that wasn’t a recording,” said Cowart. “So, I was trying extra hard for him.”
Cowart said the win took her by surprise.
“And then when I heard my name, before I could even process it, everyone just started yelling and congratulating me,” she said.
As the celebration erupted, Cowart noticed loud screams from a particular portion of the crowd. She said that ‘basically everyone from Devers came,’ attending alongside her Family and other Fort Knox community members – each wearing purple as a show of support. Cowart decided to wear the color in honor of the Month of the Military Child and her supporters followed suit.
“She’s won two competitions now, but you wouldn’t know it unless you asked her because she’s not like, ‘look at me, I’m this great winner’,” said Musselman. “She is very intelligent, and she’s shown why she has won, so it’s been great to see her grow as a competitor and youth all in one.”
Now that she has local and state under her belt – and an $8,500 scholarship for her Duke University fund –Cowart is preparing for regionals in Chicago.
“I think that from state I have a good foundation already for what I want to do, and I just intend on improving on that a little bit. I think I’m pretty prepared,” said Cowart.
During each leg of the competition Cowart spends so much time refining her speech that even her 7-year-old sister can recite parts of it. According to Cowart’s mother, she could be seen reciting parts of it while Kayla was on stage at state.
During the competition, so far, Cowart said she has learned a lot of perseverance, and it’s helped her come out of her shell.
“It would mean a lot to me [to win] because I’ve seen a lot of growth in myself since starting this competition,” said Cowart. “I think that this competition is important because it allows for you to not only learn more things about yourself, but for you to have an opportunity to help others your age, for the future, and I think that we need that right now.”
Cowart said her experience as a military youth and as a volunteer have shaped her desire to help her peers. She said that she believes many youths in her generation are ‘just there’, in limbo - not trying or learning. She wants to help provide them a chance to do more, by utilizing Devers to create support systems for everyone and opportunities for people her age to succeed academically and emotionally.
“Being in this generation, I get a first-hand account of their problems and I just want to help people become more aware,” said the 16-year-old. “Things like mental health or bullying; because I don’t think that a lot of us really open our minds to accept [the problems] and make a change.”
Musselman said Cowart’s defining trait and a big reason for her success is that she has a genuine desire to help others and is the epitome of selfless service.
“I think what’s so great about Kayla is that she is shy, she is humble,” said Musselman. “When she comes into a room you can tell she’s there for the people. She’s not there for herself; she’s looking for, ‘how can I help’. That’s her leadership style - she’s quiet but leads by example.”
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2024 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 471449 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Devers youth wins state Military Youth of the Year Competition, regionals next, by Savannah Baird, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
