Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos teen member Jared Diaz Barrios has been selected to represent San Diego County the 2021 California Youth of the Year competition

Youth leader. Academic standout. Selfless volunteer. Now, San Marcos teen Jared Diaz Barrios has one more title to add to the impressive list of accomplishments in his young life: 2021 San Diego County Youth of the Year.

“This is a great honor,” said Jared, 15, who was selected Youth of the Year at the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos in January, was named San Diego County Youth of the Year on March 9, and will move on to represent the county in the California Youth of the Year competition in April.

Jared was introduced to the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos when his parents enrolled him as a member in 2016 as a safe harbor from their neighborhood overrun by crime and where gang fights and drug deals were part of the landscape. Jared quickly immersed himself in club programs and community outreach activities.

“It’s my home away from home,” he said. “It’s a true family. Everybody is accepted here. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you’ll be loved.”

And supported. Over the years he has seen his confidence grow while learning how to become a role model. He is active in the Boys & Girls Club’s Leaders in Training program and Keystone, the latter a national Boys & Girls Club program encouraging community service. His mentors gush about his accomplishments and promise.

“He joined our leadership groups because he has a passion for helping others and giving back to his friends, family, and community,” said Armando Lara, Director of Teen Services.

Giving back to the community includes completing more than 200 community service hours in the past year; helping to serve 500 meals daily at the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos during the COVID-19 pandemic, working on fundraisers to aid fellow clubs in Los Angeles that were impacted by recent wildfires, and partnering with other organizations to feed and clothe area residents in need. In 2020 he was one of an elite few selected for a special service trip to South Africa and had begun raising funds; however, it was postponed because of the pandemic. Jared looks forward to 2022 when the trip will be rescheduled.

“Jared embodies what the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos is all about through his selfless dedication and growth as a leader since he first walked in our doors,” said Cathy Baur, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos. “He has shown a phenomenal work ethic and character and his dedication to serving the community is unsurpassed. We are proud of what he has accomplished and we are excited to see what the future holds.”

“The Boys & Girls Club has allowed me to develop very important skills, such as, leadership, responsibility, maturity, and a diverse mindset,” he wrote in his application for the Youth of the Year award. “That skill development has allowed me to be successful in all aspects of life and grow into a person I'm proud to say I am. I have been able to expand my opportunities thanks to the developments I've gone through. For example, the skill of respect and maturity that I learned has guided me through school and how to be the best student I can. Finally, the skill development that I appreciate the most that I have been able to develop at the Club is having a diverse mindset; it has helped me create a new perception on how to live.”

Jared spends up to seven or eight hours at the Boys & Girls Club daily, arriving before 11 to study, work on school assignments, meet with friends, play soccer, tutor students, and more. A sophomore at Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, Jared has a 4.0 grade point average, plays setter on the junior varsity volleyball team, and is active in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. He has his sights set on attending UC Irvine as a criminology major and aspires to a career as a canine officer, preferably with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

He credits his mentors at the Boys & Girls Club for helping to make it all happen.

“The Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos has definitely become a significant part of my life, a place that has taught me how to grow as a person and how to become a success,” Jared said. “I’ve been lucky, fortunate, and blessed to be able to come to such an amazing place every day.”



Founded in 1979 at Woodland Park, the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos moved into its 16,000-square-foot main facility, the Jennifer Loscher Building on Positive Place, in 1995. A 6,500-square-foot Teen Center opened 10 years later. Today, the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos is serving more than 4,000 youth throughout the city.