For Khairi Perry, being named King County Youth of the Year for the Boys and Girls Club reaffirms that he is on the right path.

“It symbolizes that through all the struggles, all the trials and tribulations, that my hard work is paying off,” said the Thomas Jefferson High School junior, who has fought to overcome homelessness. “It basically pushed that into light and made me see that even if you want to get down on yourself, you have the validity of the Youth the Year. You have those plaques, the certificates that show you that you did it.”

After being named Youth of the Quarter for the Federal Way club, Khairi competed for the chance to represent his local club at the county competition in February.

Being nominated was a great honor for Perry.

“It was a little hard because you had to be focused on your studies, but you also have to be practicing your speech,” Perry said. “It was such a great honor and opportunity for scholarships and networking.”

Perry was awarded a $2,000 scholarship for winning King County Youth of the Year. He hopes to attend the University of Oregon after graduating from high school. Perry is the first from the Federal Way club to win the county award, said the club’s executive director Mark Hendricks.

The honor is well-deserved for Perry, Hendricks said.

“We just expect huge things from him,” he said. “We want him to go to college and be that role model for his siblings.”

In late March, Perry represented King County in the state competition.

Although he didn’t win Youth of the Year for the state, Perry was still thrilled with the experience.

“When they announced the winner, he was so happy for the other kid … Khairi just lit up,” Hendricks said.

Perry said he was happy for the winner, Zane Castilleja, a sophomore from Prosser High School in Eastern Washington.

“He’s a good friend to me now,” Perry said of Castilleja.

Perry said he is grateful for the Boys and Girls Club.

“Boys and Girls Club has been here for me my whole life,” he said. “They helped me when I didn’t have anything or anybody to help me. They helped me and my brothers. They gave us food. They gave us clothes. They gave us things that we need. They advocated for us to get Christmas gifts… A lot of times I try to put back into the Boys and Girls Club.”

Perry’s volunteer work includes packing backpacks for homeless, helping with fun runs, leading auctions and speaking at events. Perry has a desire to help others as he has been helped.

“Me as a kid who grew up not really having much with a whole bunch of pain and a harsh backstory, it was always in my mind that I wanted to help people so they didn’t have to face what I have to face,” he said.

Perry encourages his fellow youth to make a positive impact.

“It is really important how you carry yourself, how you carry yourself on social media, how you carry yourself in person, how you carry yourself when you are by yourself and people don’t know what you are doing,” he said. “It is really important for your character.”