Senior Grace Barr was named as the Youth of the Year on Wednesday for the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club.

On March 9, Barr will head to Topeka to compete for the state title.

The Youth of the Year program honors teens in the community who have experienced challenges and overcame them. Seniors Christian Espinosa, Breanna Bell, Jazmen Fowler and Grace Barr were among the six candidates competing for this award.

“If you saw the paper, I was crying,” Barr said. “I was really overwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting it, and it was a great feeling knowing that I had all this support from people from school, Boys and Girls Club, my mom and my family.”