Amaya Gomez found welcoming spaces from her doctor through a series of surgeries and the local Boys & Girls Club branch after being a target of bullies in her early teens.
She wants to create that sanctuary for others. Gomez, 17, was honored for her early work toward those ends as the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley’s 2025 Youth of the Year on March 1.
Now the Deer Valley High School junior is preparing for the state contest April 6-8 with teens from Tucson, Scottsdale, Flagstaff and Sierra Vista.
