Meet Hawthorne Member of the Year Kaya, a caring and athletic third grader
Whether playing travel ball or dodgeball, exploring, or being active during Triple Play, Hawthorne Member of the Year Kaya G. is one of the most energetic nine-year-olds you’ll ever meet.
Her Club journey started more than two years ago. Her mom works long hours, and the Club was the first place she thought to drop Kaya off in the morning. Now a third grader, Kaya rolls in every morning at 6:15 a.m. so her mom can get to work. She helps lead the walk to school and is back at the Club after school until 5:30 p.m. It’s a long day for the Hawthorne Elementary schooler, but one that she loves.
“I really like the art room,” Kaya said. The basketball hoop in the gym is one of my favorite spots, too. I get to work on my shooting, and we do a lot of teamwork, too.”
Being around basketball is something Kaya’s been doing since she could run and dribble a ball. Starting in kindergarten, Kaya now plays on several travel ball teams, sometimes playing up with the sixth graders and holding her own. Two of her teammates, Tekoa and Joey, attend the Yerington clubhouse in a unique blend of Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley sites. They get to hang out every weekend, tell stories from the week, and win tournament after tournament on the court together.
“I love basketball,” Kaya said. “I like shooting; I like getting to play defense. I try and play hard enough every weekend so I can get all-star.”
Following an incredibly successful travel ball season, softball is next for Kaya. She plays shortstop for Mineral County Little League teams and has been getting better every year. Not wanting ever to be still, Kaya is also a 4-H member in the organization’s ski program.
The spunky third grader was named the Hawthorne Member of the Year at the Youth of the Year banquet this year.
“As a group, we picked Kaya because she’s one of those members that we just never have any issues with,” said Juanita Diede, the clubhouse’s director. “If she’s upset with something, she’ll always discuss it and work through it. She’s a great communicator of her feelings.”
Her incredibly mature emotional skills have also made her one of the most helpful members at the Club’s Hawthorne location and across the entire organization. When it comes to her peers, she’s a great mediator. Whether her friend group or two kids she’s less familiar with, she helps resolve conflict with the maturity of someone much older to keep everyone getting along great. Her heart is enormous, and when it comes to the younger members, she shows that, too.
“We go to the playground at the school, and the preschoolers have their own area they can play in,” Diede said. “There was a time when a kid got hurt, and Kaya was the first to see it. She helped the child up and walked them right over to a staff. The kids here trust her. She’s a leader in our clubhouse.”
She’s also a math wiz and enjoys adding, subtracting and dividing with her teacher Ms. Jessa. As a member of the Walker River Pauite Tribe, she travels to local powwows to dance.
When asked if there was anything else she wanted to share, Kaya replied, “Tacos are my favorite food, red is my favorite color, and lemonade is my favorite drink.