QHS student recently named Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year for Lincolnland District

QUINCY — Dev Patel, a recent graduate of Quincy High School, recently was named the Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year for the Lincolnland District.

The Quincy Exchange Club is one of 31 clubs in Illinois, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that consist of the Lincolnland District. 

The Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year is a national award. The Quincy Exchange Club has a selection committee that includes counselors from Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame. The committee recognizes three seniors from each high school as Youths of the Month.

Those six students then submit an essay, based on a theme selected by the National Exchange Club. Those essays are judged by the committee, and a local Youth of the Year is selected by the club and awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The Quincy winner is then submitted to the district committee for selection as the District Youth of the Year and a $2,500 scholarship. All district winners are submitted to the national selection committee for recognition at the national convention (all expenses paid for the recipient and family) and a $15,000 scholarship. 

The other five Youths of the Month in Quincy were Anya Somanna and Keshav Ghaneker of QHS and Drew McDonald, Emily Strieker and Teresa Drotar of QND.