Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos named Delilah Garcia this year's Youth of the Year at a celebration on Jan. 31, 2025.

Meet Delilah, Our 2025 Youth of the Year

Dressed in a bold pink blazer, Delilah Garcia walks into a room with confidence—a reflection of the determination that defines her journey. As this year’s Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos, her story is one of perseverance, ambition and a deep commitment to helping others.  

From her first moments at the Club as a young girl to returning as a dedicated member of the Career Pathways Program, Delilah has taken full advantage of the opportunities offered to her. The Club has been more to her than just an afterschool program––it has been a space where she has discovered her strengths, refined her goals and found a true passion for advocacy and leadership. 

“The Boys & Girls Club means a lot to me because it offers me a safe place where I can express myself and has given me access to a variety of opportunities I wouldn’t have had outside of here,” said the Mission Hills High School senior.  

Delilah remembers her first experiences at the Club not yet as a member, but as “Mr. Roger’s little sister.” With her parents living in Mexico while they were in California, Delilah’s older siblings stepped in to care for her and her sister. 

She fondly recalls the Boys & Girls Club as a nurturing environment or, in her words, “a home I didn’t even realize I needed” highlighting how much it meant to her and her family that she was welcomed into youth programming while her brother worked as a Youth Development Professional at San Marcos Elementary School. Her weekly time at the Club with her brother came to an end in fifth grade when her parents returned to the U.S., but the impact of those early experiences stayed with her. 

Delilah found her way back to the Boys & Girls Club in her sophomore year of high school as part of the Career Pathways Program, where she connects with

professionals, develops both hard and soft skills like public speaking, and participates in college and career readiness sessions that have helped her confidently navigate the college application process as a first-generation student.

“Before Career Pathways, I wasn’t sure of my career options. I was kind of always set that I was going to be a doctor or in the medical field,” she said. “But thanks to the program, I was able to get internships that were paid throughout the summer that helped me understand more about what I wanted to do in the future, and it broadened my horizon of what the opportunities actually were.”

Delilah gained her first real-world work experience--and a glimpse into the medical field--through an internship with TrueCare, a local nonprofit healthcare provider. But it was through her second internship with local developer Sea Breeze Properties that sparked a newfound interest in the world of business. This experience solidified her decision to pursue a bachelor's degree in business, with a possible minor in statistics or data science.  

Pursuing an education is deeply meaningful to Delilah, as her mother faced barriers that prevented her from accessing the resources needed to further her own education, despite a strong desire to do so. For this reason, and her own experience as a first-generation Hispanic student, she empathizes deeply with these groups and is determined to uplift them. Her involvement with the Club has inspired her to take part in volunteer work and advocacy efforts, ensuring that she is always pushing herself to give back.

Delilah’s passion she has for helping others shines through her role as an ambassador for Project Next, where she empowers fellow first-generation students by providing them guidance and resources to prepare for their academic and career paths after graduation.