Rutland Junior Wins Boys and Girls Club “Youth of the Year” in Georgia

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Rutland High School junior, Tyler Ragin ,wins medals for long-jumping and running. She’s a top student, and now she’s the Boys and Girls Club of America’s “Youth of the Year for the state of Georgia.

As part of the competition, the candidates have to recite a speech. Ragin shared part of hers with 41NBC. She beat out about 150,000 kids for the title.

“I realized what I ought to do as a person, as an individual. I gained the strength and confidence within myself and I turned to myself, my friends, my family, and God,” she recited smiling.

When her parents hit on hard financial times, and eventually divorced. She used the situation to propel her in sports, academics, and personal growth. She found a home away from home at the Boys and Girls Club where she thrived.

“I was in a bad spot and I didn’t know what to do and to other people going through the same thing, if not worse, and see them help and me help them, it made me better,” said Tyler.

That made her a perfect fit to compete for the BGCA award. The competition is based on service to club, community and family, strong moral life, and life goals. Tyler’s got some big ones.

“I want to graduate as one of the top students in my class, get a track scholarship, run in the 2016 rio Olympics,” said Tyler.

She’s well on her way to achieving them. She has a 3.6 GPA. On Saturday she won another gold metal for her long jump.

As her dad Leland Regan showed us, she’s already got a pile of 93 letters from colleges across the country. He says he’ll support her wherever she goes, but he’s hoping she stays close.

“She’s a motivation to me everyday,” said Leland.

When times get tough, and the odds are against this superstar, the word “no” is all she needs to hear to work even harder.

“If you tell me I can’t do something i’m going to try my best to do you wrong,” said Tyler.

Tyler will go on to compete against the “Youth of the Year’s” from seven different states in the southeast. If she wins the regionals, she’ll go on to the national competition where she’ll get the chance to meet President Obama.