Tavia Rapozo of the Boys &Girls Club Lihu‘e clubhouse was selected the winner of the O‘ahu-Kaua‘i Youth of the Year competitive phase Sunday at the Aulani Disney Hawai‘i Resort on O‘ahu.
“It was really cool,” Rapozo said. “Marcus Mariota was there, and we all got to meet him, speak with him, and he even autographed my candidate poster.”
The autographed poster was one of the mementos Rapozo came home with, placing it next to the one earned by Jessica Herman, the Lihu‘e Boys &Girls Club’s 2019 Youth of the Year candidate.
“My mom got to go with us to this competitive phase, and she won a bunch of Mariota autographed photos,” Rapozo said. “It was exciting. When they called her number, I was jumping up and down.”
Tina Albao, the Boys &Girls Club Kaua‘i coordinator, said Rapozo was the smallest person on the stage during the competition.
“She was so petite,” Albao said. “But she owned that stage. She worked the full stage compared to the other candidates who kept looking in other directions. Kaua‘i brought it.”
Rapozo’s win Sunday brings her to the next phase, where she will be competing against representatives of Boys &Girls Clubs from the neighbor islands and military bases for the ultimate Youth of the Year honor that takes place on Capitol Hill March 31.
“I still have work to do,” Rapozo said. “I have to shorten my speech because we will have strict time limits, and I need to freshen up my interview skills.”
Albao said during the March 31 phase, Rapozo will get to meet state Senate President Ron Kouchi and the three Kaua‘i representatives before having to present her speech at The Plaza.
“That’s where we find out how she’ll do,” Albao said. “I feel confident she can take this. She’s got it,”
The Kaua‘i High School senior spoke with a lot more confidence than before she left for the competitive phase, smiling and chatting freely.
“This was a Disney resort, so even Mickey Mouse dropped in to congratulate the candidates,” Rapozo said. “It was all very exciting. The hardest part was shaking off my nerves — what if I finish last? What if I don’t make it?”
Rapozo’s excitement was stoked to the next level when she was greeted by the arrival of the printed invitations to a Youth Code Teen Panel Mental Health Awareness &Prevention gathering she will lead on May 27 at the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort &Beach Club.
“This is an invitation-only dinner event,” Rapozo said. “We’ll have a teen panel of other Youth of the Year candidates, including one from New Mexico. Through a series of questions and answers from the audience, we want to encourage dialog with the community to help combat mental health trauma in our youth.”
The event is sponsored by the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua‘i Community Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation to support teen and leadership programs.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
