Out of 17,000-plus youth who were served by the 33 Boys and Girls Clubs of King County last year, Federal Way’s own Jaxon Rowland has been chosen as the 2025 Youth of the Year.

The honor was announced Feb. 8 at an event celebrating the Youth of the Year nominees.

Federal Way has two Boys and Girls Club locations, both of which offer low-cost to free activities and safe spaces for youth. The clubs are located at 30815 8th Ave. S. and 31453 28th Ave. S.

Jaxon joined the Boys and Girls Club at age 8, and in that time has “grown into a mentor, advocate, and role model for his peers,” according to the club.

As the Youth of the Year, Jaxon will next go on to the statewide competition. This event is three days long and includes breakfast at the Governor’s Mansion, activities and speech coaching sessions. It ends with a competition day where judges hear speeches and interview participants after reviewing their application packets.

Judges there select a Washington State Youth of the Year and a Military Youth of the Year (for members of clubs on military bases).

The Youth of the Year program began in 1947, and has evolved into a “comprehensive leadership development program,” according to the Boys and Girls Club website. The program includes the Youth of the Month for leadership recognition, Junior Youth of the Year for leadership readiness, and Youth of the Year for leadership development.

Teen Director Angel Mulivai-Tobin shared in a press release that “Jaxon is a natural leader whose passion for community and mental wellness shines through in everything he does. He is an exceptional role model and a true representative of what Youth of the Year stands for.”

These efforts toward community and mental wellness include extensive work at the Boys and Girls Clubs in Federal Way, including his role as a Keystone Club president, where he leads community initiatives like “feeding the homeless, organizing donation drives, and planning youth engagement events,” according to the Boys and Girls Club.

Jaxon is also a peer mentor for Innovative Change Makers, an organization based in Tacoma that focuses on providing innovative alternatives to hazardous lifestyles through mentorship, peer-mediation, job readiness training and more.

Innovative Change Makers founder Brian Gatewood Sr. told the Mirror that Jaxon has been part of Innovative Change Makers since the organization started about four years ago. The two met when Haywood was teaching a class about racial equity at Garfield High School, sponsored by the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE).

“He was one of the youngest kids in the class, but he was one of the ones who stood out because he was one of the first ones to always raise his hand to answer questions and showed just a different type of maturity,” Gatewood said of Jaxon.

Jaxon and his younger brother joined Innovative Change Makers and since then, “he’s been one of our leaders. He was one of our first peer mentors that we hired on and he does trainings for other students.”

“He’s just a great kid, super resilient, like he’s experienced a lot in his life…he doesn’t have that father figure, traditionally, you know. His dad and then his stepdad are both out of the picture currently, but there’s just been a lot of folks in the community, like myself and my team and others who have rallied around him and really been that support for him,” Gatewood said.

Jaxon told the Mirror that he’s experienced homelessness after his father was shot in fifth grade.

2,271 students in Federal Way Public Schools are experiencing homelessness, according to the most recent data from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

To other youth in that situation, Jaxon’s advice is to “just take it one step at a time,” and remember that “you’re going to get through it eventually, even if it means it’s a year or two years. Don’t let that affect you. Go to school. Still be who you are, still be yourself.”

Over the years, Jaxon has had many mentors, but he is now taking on that role himself.

Jaxon said that his favorite part of mentorship and volunteering at the extent that he does is “seeing those kids happy and engaged in what they’re doing, the smiles on their faces, or, like, even, not just the kids but the whole family having fun.”

Tim Robbins, a mentor at the Boys and Girls Club , said of Jaxon that “he’s had to grow up a little faster, through his life experience. But he’s also found a way to stay youthful…you’ll never see him in here not laughing or smiling or trying to crack jokes with everybody…but he does have responsibilities helping out his mom and then his little brother and stuff like that, and he takes those seriously as well.”

Looking to the future, Jaxon is interested in attending Howard University and studying architecture to eventually design housing for people experiencing homelessness.

“He’s already done amazing things, but he’s going to continue to do great things, and definitely, anybody that can assist him in his journey — he’s worth it,” Gatewood said.

Jaxon Rowland won the Youth of the Year 2025 for the Boys and Girls Club of King County. Here Jaxon is pictured with his family and friends at the award celebration on February 8, including Angel Mulivai, Teen Director at the Federal Way Ex3 Ron Sandwith Teen Center. Photo courtesy of Boys and Girls Club of King County.

Brian Gatewood Sr. of Innovative Change Makers and Jaxon Rowland. Photo provided by Brian Gatewood