Valencia, who turned 14 last week and attends Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington, Va., was selected to represent JBM-HH at the state level by a panel of judges that included JBM-HH Command Sgt. Maj. Randall Woods; JBM-HH Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Director Denise James; FMWR Child, Youth and School Services Chief Dawn Thompson; and Army Community Services Chief Laurie Brown.
The Military Youth of the Year honor "recognizes a Club member who served on a military installation who has overcome enormous odds and demonstrated exceptional character and accomplishments," according to the Boys and Girls Club's website.
Valencia and her family moved to Arlington in 2006. Her mother, Monika, a native of Washington, D.C., works as a human resources specialist at Mark Center in Alexandria, Va. Her dad, Air Force Lt. Col. William J. Parker III, is currently stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Valencia participates in JBM-HH FMWR's teen program and was encouraged to participate in the Military Youth of the Year competition by Workforce Prep Specialist and Middle School and Teen Programmer Brenda Magnin, who has helped her and the JBM-HH staff prepare for the state competition.
The JBM-HH judges picked Valencia using the same evaluation scale as the higher levels of the competition. She'll be required to memorize and deliver a 3-minute speech and answer a series of questions from a panel.
Magnin said the speech Valencia delivered to the JBM-HH panel was already the caliber of speeches at the state level.
"She did a fantastic job," Magnin said.
Now Valencia just needs to make some tweaks.
"I've revised my speech to make it shorter," Valencia told the Pentagram. "I need to start practicing and memorizing my speech too."
Valencia said she enjoys art and reading, noting that she just finished Bad Girls Don't Die, a thriller by Katie Alender.
Monika said she was thrilled when she learned that Valencia would be moving onto the next level of competition.
"I was super excited," she said. "It really makes me a proud parent."
Magnin, who just retired last week, was also excited.
"I've known Valencia since she was in my first-grade group of the [Child and Youth Program]," she said. "[This competition] really is impressive to see on a resume, especially for college."
If Valencia wins at the state level, there are regional and national levels of competition as well. The state completion is scheduled to begin April 9.
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