When Barbara first moved to Smith Valley, she didn’t speak a single word of English. When she started attending school, one of the first things the school and her family did was get her enrolled in their ESL, English as a second language, program. At just six years old, Barbara was the only one in the entire program. The isolation in the program was a struggle as Barbara sat in a room alone with her teacher, but the one-on-one attention put her on a fast-track to finishing the program in just two years.
From Smith Valley, her family made the short move over to Yerington, where her and her brother began attending Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley.
“I remember getting there at six in the morning, putting our stuff in our cubbies, and rushing to the only open area at that time to play basketball in the gym,” Barbara said.
One of the first things Barbara realized was how much she was going to have to help her brother around, who was still working on his English and hadn’t even started school yet. Whenever someone needed him to do something, and especially when he got in trouble, it was up to Barbara to translate. She didn’t mind helping out with her brother, but being constantly pulled away to translate ultimately led her to her passion today.
“The Club has systems of support for language barriers and mental health issues,” Barbara said. “But I want to improve both factors because I believe that these systems haven’t remotely reached their full potential yet.”
Even though Rodrigo speaks fluent English now and the two attend the William N. Pennington Teen Center together, she still looks after him.
Just like the first days of her Club membership, the gym remained her favorite place to go. That is, until she suffered tears to both of her ACLs over the span of just six months. AYSO soccer claimed the first one, while her beloved gym at her Club was where she tore her second. To help with her recovery and prevent any further injury, Barbara’s parents pulled her from the Club to stay home, rest, and heal. Even though it’s what was best, the stir-craziness set in as she sat at home all summer.
“After my first injury, I couldn’t play any games, which was my way of releasing stress and anger,” Barbara said. “Those two things built up over time to the point where I couldn’t enjoy myself in anything. It took me getting hurt a second time in order to take a look at myself and analyze why I did things the way that I did, and I wondered why violence was usually my first response to a majority of situations I’ve experienced when violence wasn’t even on the table. My second injury basically forced me to self-reflect and to calm myself, which was something I didn’t even know I needed until I experienced it. I had to spend almost three years in order to recover from both of my injuries, and during that time I had gotten to know myself better than ever. I could finally be comfortable being myself.”
With both ACLs fully healed and Barbara chomping at the bit to return to her normal life after a three-year road bump, her opportunity to return to the Club came in the form of the Comstock Youth Works program, a partnership between Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley and Healthy Communities Coalition, expanding on the Junior Staff program. Working in the Club for a portion of the day and spending the rest of it at her teen center, she came back a whole different person.
“That summer I had the most fun. Not only did I establish great friendships and mentorships with some kids that attend here, but I also got a chance to go back to the Club as a kid again, getting to hang out with my friends and even making new ones with the younger members that didn’t go to the Teen Center before.”
Barbara has taken her new lessons learned to look after her fellow Club members, offering advice and someone to talk to while letting her peers know it was ok to talk about their mental health and ask for help. She’s also a significant part of her Keystone Club in Yerington where she’s served as Vice President and oversees the snack shack. In the snack shack, she handles stock, helps set prices, and puts the schedule together for the Keystone Club to sell food and drinks to other Club members.
Barbara will compete for the second time in her local Youth of the Year competition after running her sophomore year this February. The 2026 Youth of the Year will be announced at the Club’s annual banquet February 21.