youth of the year? they go hand-in-hand with one another. the boys and girls club helped me get my start, it helped me have that great future. and the future, there s so many opportunities. but right now, truth in service at howard university, it s important to make sure that i m giving back to my community, to make sure that i m honest and i possess integrity in everything that i do so they both tie hand-in-hand and they re both going to make me the person that the future will appreciate. the future will appreciate you. she has, by the way, no matter what you re going through you should never, ever give up on hope and achieving your goals. adding there s always a light at the end of the tunnel. living her life beyond a dream. wonderful, they do such great work. coming up, the withdrawal plans for thousands of troops in afghanistan is now hanging in the balance. what are the dangers that the u.s. could face if a deal falls through? leaving afghanistan to fend for itself? [ pape
year and i m so pumped because now i get to represent the organization that i love. reporter: the organization that she dearly loved is the boys and girls club. it s a place that keona calls home. it s where she found inspiration and motivation from caring adults who served as her mentors. they, keona says, helped her and her single parent mother through some very difficult times when her mother became permanently disabled following heart surgery. keona had to work to make money, plus keep a rigorous academic schedule it the club was there to help. i would have never had the confidence in myself. i would have never believed that i can do this. i can achieve my deeps. and the boys and girls club had just been that foundation i needed. on behalf of the 4 million kids that we serve a year at boys and girls clubs of america, keona is a shining example of our program, and the evidence, the irrefutable evidence, of what we re all about. reporter: at howard, keona is
disturbing statistics like those kids dropping out of high school. what we don t hear often enough are the stories of remarkable kids completing school and moving forward for brighter futures. organizations like the boys and girls club of america, for example, are working hard to help kids do just that, to succeed in life. in today s beyond the dream, we focus on one of them. keon th keona nolan, america s youth of the year. the bell tolls on the campus of howard university indicating the time for the change of classes for students. it is a prestigious academic institution with a long line of graduates who have and continue to make great contributions to america and the world . one of its rising stars, this freshman student of wichita. she is the national youth of the year for the boys and girls club of america. i feel extremely blessed to be the national youth of the
focused on study and being a positive influence on people she encount encounters. she is optimistic about becoming a future leader in america. and her passion for excellence is contagious. it s really great to have a friend who s doing such phen phenomenal things. i m really honored and humbled to have a friend like keona because she s such a role model not only to her peers but to also other adults because her faith and drive, it really inspires you, that you can do anything as well. it definitely inspires me because it lets me know i can do something. reporter: keona s goal is to eventually become a federal prosecutor and ultimately serve as a justice on the supreme court. she s determined to help people along the way live their best lives now. the slogan of the boys and girls club is great futures start here. now you re a student at howard university where the slogan is or the motto is truth in service. how do those two philosophies connect with you as keona nolan
it s back to school season and to help out kids and parents, the boys and girls club of america has enlisted the help of a very famous alum. former nba star shaquille o neal. i spoke with shaq and his mom, lucille o neal. shaq, tell us about the wake-up call and how you got involved with boys and girls clubs well my mother and i are both alum of the boys and girls club. for me it s a special place. growing up you know, mom didn t have money for babysitters but she worked, my father worked, and her instructions were, go to the boys and girls club, stay there until i get back. now once i got inside i felt safe. i was able to do my homework, keep up on my studies, able to play basketball, i was able to sit there and dream so for me that s a special place. we re issuing a wake-up call,