The next generation of leadership is a force and is being propelled by organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs. No greater evidence exists than that of the essays of the two 2024-2025 Youths of the Year selected by the Clubs, Jordan Maxwell and Sinai Dunbar, both from the Tampa Bay area. Dunbar is a Club Member from Royal Theater with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast and Maxwell is a Club Member from the Sam & Laurice Hachem Foundation Club at Temple Terrace with Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay.
For more than 75 years, the Youth of the Year program has celebrated the inspiring journeys of remarkable teens, recognizing their outstanding leadership, community service, academic excellence and commitment to healthy living. Each year, one extraordinary Club member is honored as the National Youth of the Year, serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth and representing the voices of young people nationwide.
Before the flurry of activity of fall semester began, both sat for an interview with Tampa Bay Business and Wealth to discuss their experiences with the Clubs, their view of leadership and what they want current business leaders to know, because, yes, the children are watching you. And, you may learn a thing, or two, from watching them, too.
Maxwell is heading to Howard University in Washington D.C., as a freshman, and Dunbar is entering her senior year at Shorecrest Preparatory School. This interview has been edited for length and brevity.
How did you get introduced to the Boys & Girls Clubs?
Maxwell: In sixth grade, my family moved to Temple Terrace where a new Club was being built. My mom saw it and decided to send me and my brothers for the summer. We were completely against it. We wanted to chill at home. [laughs] But we went, and we met new people and made new friends and met coaches.
Dunbar: My Club was [was near] my house in kindergarten. It was a great place for us to go after school. Spending time at the Club, since my brother was five years older than me, helped me find my own voice, instead of being just the little sister.
What does leadership mean to you?
Dunbar: When I think about leadership, I see it as a team effort. If you’re a leader and you’re not considering the input of others as valuable, the team can’t effectively do what they need to do. Everyone needs to cooperate with each other for a shared goal.
Maxwell: Leadership is taking the initiative and knowing how to get stuff done and knowing how to bring out the best in people so you can function as a team.
What challenges have you faced as you try to grow into leadership as you approach adulthood?
Dunbar: For me, it was really learning how and when to use my voice. A part of being a leader is understanding that sometimes those around you may not be able to use their voice the way you can.
Maxwell: I’m the eldest of two brothers and growing up, leadership just sort of came to me naturally and I tried to exemplify that by continuing to be a servant to those who needed it.
Dunbar: Growing up in the time of social media, I’ve learned that people are really good at identifying the issues but never the building blocks to fix those issues. We need to be able to plan to get to the root of the problem and actually fix it.
How has the experience in the Clubs shaped how you lead?
Maxwell: As a child, I had to take medicine for seizures, and I hated taking it. But I had a coach from the Club tell me once that I had to learn how to do the things I didn’t want to do. It was through the Club that I learned tenacity and perseverance. You may not want to do something, but you must keep going.
Any words of advice to our current leaders reading this?
Dunbar: Our generation is very proactive, and we really want to change the world for the better. I’m really glad the Boys & Girls Clubs gives my generation a voice, to stand up for what we believe in and for a future we know we deserve.
Maxwell: When you lead from the heart and your team, or community feels that they know you’re truly advocating for them. For others.
FROM THE ESSAYS:
“The community where you live should be a place where everyone can come together and serve, work and play. As a leader at school, the club, and church I take pride in being able to connect everyone for the good of the whole community.” – Maxwell
“Robert Waldo Emerson once said, ‘To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.’ I believe your uniqueness does not make you “different.” This is a belief that is important to me in my life, as I navigate the world.”
Jordan Maxwell and Sinai Dunbar were interviewed by TBBW’s Managing Editor Jo-Lynn Brown for this feature.