Ileana Wall, a senior at Yelm High School, was honored for her commitment to the community at the Christmas in the Park celebration where she was named Yelm’s Youth of the Year for 2022.
Yelm Community Schools Superintendent Brian Wharton referred to Wall in an email as being “an incredible choice” for the honor of Youth of the Year. Wharton said Quentin Robinson, who was an honorable mention for the award, was “equally deserving.” He called both students great leaders.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for me,” Wall said. “I was really excited to go up there and receive the award because I feel like I’ve put in a lot of work over the years and it was nice to be recognized for it.”
Wall has also been involved with the YMCA’s Youth Legislature program, where she focused on four program goals of leadership development, personal growth, service to others and social development.
Wall has maintained a 3.73 GPA and takes AP courses at Yelm High School, which are oftentimes considered to be the most challenging.
Wall said the honor rewarded her for her hard work. Leading up to her nomination, she said she felt nervous, but that feeling went away when she was officially selected as a nominee.
“It was really exciting. I had worked very hard on my application and essay and was very nervous about if I had been nominated or not,” Wall said. “It boosted me for the rest of the week to know I had something good coming my way, whether I got the final award or not. It’s nice to get recognized for your work no matter what caliber.”
As for Robinson, the runner up, he’s maintained a 3.28 GPA during his time at Yelm High School. The senior is enlisted in the United States Army National Guard and works as a team lead at Yelm Cinemas. He recently received his PFC, or private first class designation. PFC is when a junior enlisted soldier begins to transition from apprentice to journeyman by developing technical and leadership skills, according to military.com.
Robinson’s military occupational specialty will be 15 Tango. He will learn to be a helicopter mechanic and will work on Blackhawks. Robinson’s ultimate goal is to become a pilot, as he said he’s “always wanted to be in the air.”
Like Wall, Robinson is a student representative on the Yelm School Board. He also serves as a student representative for the Student Voice and Advisory Council, and is a member of Yelm High School’s drumline.
Following his graduation from Yelm High School, Robinson will earn his associate of technical arts degree from South Puget Sound Community College before he attends basic training.
“This honor meant a lot. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the community, kinda unintentionally. But it kinda worked out the way it did and I’m thankful to be recognized for it,” Robinson said. “I’ve enjoyed serving my community, and I’m very proud to be named honorable mention. Pride is the biggest word that comes to mind when thinking about this honor.”
Wall had nothing but praise for Robinson.
“Quentin is one of my favorite people,” Wall said. “We’ve grown up together and I’ve seen him do some amazing things for our peers and the community. If anyone else was going to be nominated with me, it had to be him.”
Wall said that Robinson wants to better Yelm High School as much as she does.
Robinson said Wall is a hard worker who is deserving of the Youth of the Year honor.
“We’ve known each other since elementary and it was great to see someone I’ve known so closely get that award,” Robinson said. “She works so hard, and I don’t really understand how she does it sometimes. I couldn’t imagine anyone else getting that award.”
