Bullying, depression, language gap. Tri-Cities grad overcomes all to be national finalist
Teenage years are not easy. And if Dalilah Fuentes could go back in time and tell her 14-year-old self anything, it would be this.
“Stay positive and stay strong. Your path does not define who you are.”
“I think back then, my younger self, I was always feeling so bad about my life. I felt so bad about myself and wasn’t proud of who I was,” said the Kennewick 18-year-old.
She struggled with it all: Bullying, depression, social isolation and a large language gap she’d struggled with since immigrating to the U.S. at a young age.
But people believed in her and supported her along the way. And, eventually, she learned to believe in herself, too.
Named the 2023 Youth of the Year earlier this year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State, she became the 2023-24 Pacific Youth of the Year last month. Now, Fuentes is a finalist this week for the 2023 National Youth of the Year Award.
The winner will be named Thursday at the National Youth of the Year Gala in New York City, where Fuentes and five other nationally recognized teens will be honored and celebrated.
Fuentes, an alumni member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, says this is an exciting moment to tell her story on the national stage.
“This opportunity means a lot to me,” she told the Tri-City Herald. “As I started this process, I never expected for me to come this far. To be able to share my story and how the club has helped me throughout my life, it is an amazing opportunity.”
And she hopes to take home the top award not only as a testament for what she went through, but also for her community.
“I really hope. That would be an awesome opportunity to be able to take home the title and just embrace it with pride and be proud of myself,” she said.
Finding her voice
Fuentes went from having no education and speaking very little English to succeeding in school and becoming a community leader — all in the span of about six years.
But her story of transformation — from a shy introvert to a standout “club kid” — really began in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where as a young child difficult family circumstances prevented her from attending school.
“Day after day, I watched from the window as kids in my neighborhood came home from school,” she said in a personal essay. “I felt left out and wanted so badly to be one of those kids — to learn and fit in.”
She and her brother ultimately moved to Washington state to live with their grandmother, who enrolled them in Washington Elementary.
Fuentes said she was “behind in every way you could be” as a fifth grader, and was placed in support classes to help her catch up.
“I didn’t know how to read or write, nor did I have foundational knowledge of subjects that my classmates had been studying for years,” she said.
She still struggled. Students even teased and bullied her for the way she spoke, not knowing how far behind she was.
“Every time I would get bullied for saying the wrong word, I just wouldn’t talk,” she said. “I was a huge, huge introvert. I was insecure with my voice and how I said things.”
She hit a low point when she turned 14. She felt helpless and empty.
“My grades dropped and sometimes I’d skip class just to go and cry at a nearby park,” she said. “I was eager to find friends who would accept me for who I was.”
Things changed though after her brother invited her to attend a program at the Kennewick Boys & Girls Clubs.
Suddenly she was surrounded with peers to talk with and do activities with. After COVID, she got more involved in the club and also joined the Keystone Clubs leadership program, where she helped organize activities and dances.
She played on intramural sports teams, went swimming, attended college tours, learned to cook and even how to budget her money.
She found the motivation and confidence to keep going academically. The club provided not only friendships and a place to go, but also a second family.
“It was pretty awesome that the club helped me build connections and create friends who are interested in what I’m interested in and passionate about,” she said.
Shining sunlight on youth
As a national finalist, Fuentes’ platform is based on “shining sunlight on youth to help them grow into their full potential.”
“As a leader, I want to uplift youths and motivate them to do anything and everything,” Fuentes said. “I want to inspire youth to see their potential. To use that potential to create something great... At the end of the day, anything’s possible.”
One of the great obstacles Fuentes has dealt with was an acceptance that a drug addiction issue in her family was not her fault.
“Now, I feel more proud of my story,” she said. “I’m here doing big things with my grandma along with my Boys & Girls family. And it makes me feel proud that I’ve come so far and haven’t allowed my parents or my problems hold me down.”
She’s also achieved much more than she thought was possible when she moved to the U.S.
Fuentes graduated in June from Kennewick High School, and made the principal’s list with a 3.6 GPA.
She is currently a freshman at Pacific Northwest Christian College in Kennewick and is interested in criminology as a career. She’s a first-generation college student.
She’s also an alumni member and still keeps in touch with her “Boys & Girls family.”
Being a “club kid” didn’t just help Fuentes make friends and overcome emotional obstacles — it also gave her academic confidence and helped her realize that higher education after high school was possible.
Fuentes gives thanks to the local donors who fund Boys & Girls Club programs here in the Tri-Cities.
Without them, a whole world of activities and life experiences would have been shut out to her — she would have never been able to experience canoeing or attend eight college visits, or tell her story to the world.
“Today, I know that I am not lost. I’m simply redirecting. I’m not a failure. I am learning. I am not behind. I’m preparing,” she writes. “I don’t know the rest of my life’s story yet, but I’m ready to handle whatever comes my way.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Bullying, depression, language gap. Tri-Cities grad overcomes all to be national finalist."
