JACKSONVILLE — When the Boys & Girls Club of Jacksonville was tasked with picking someone as Youth of the Year to represent the club in the state competition, it was a no-brainer for the staff.
Ricky Moore, 17, who has aspirations of becoming an Air Force officer, was the recipient of the distinction from the Jacksonville chapter. Moore is in his second year of going to the Boys & Girls Club.
“As we sought someone to represent the Boys & Girls Club in the state competition for Youth of the Year, Ricky was first on our list of scholars who had a high regard and a high recommendation from our staff,” said LaConda Watson, CEO and executive director for the Boys & Girls Club of Jacksonville. “There were a few other teens that we looked at. Ricky just stood out from the rest of the pack.
“He also received a $500 scholarship.”
Moore is a junior at Jacksonville High School, where he maintains a 4.0 grade-point average. He thinks the honor of being Youth of the Year in Jacksonville also reflects well upon the community.
“I see it as something where I can better not just myself but the entire community,” he said. “It’s not just inside these walls at the Boys & Girls Club. It’s somewhere where the whole community can join in and see something big is going on there. We’re helping kids. We’re helping our future, seeing them just start to be themselves. In society nowadays, a lot of people can’t be themselves.”
Moore was born in the Philippines in January 2002, the son of Rosie Moore. He’s lived in Jacksonville for the past 10 years. He’s involved in Junior ROTC at the high school, where he holds the position of cadet squadron commander. He’s also played soccer and takes Advanced Placement classes.
“Two of my siblings are in the Air Force,” Moore said. “My whole family has been centered around the military. I just found it right to also join that path. It was something seeing my sister and brother graduate from basic training. It really hit me how proud my mom was of them. I wanted to do the same. They took a different route besides the one I’m taking. I want to become an officer, and they are on the enlisted side.”
Moore is attempting to get admission into the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I was told you have to apply to the college first; then you have to get nominations from congressmen and senators from the state,” Moore said. “Right now, applications just opened up. I’m getting ready to submit mine.”
Besides wanting to be an officer in the Air Force, Moore said, he’s interested in several courses of study.
“I’m looking to be a pharmaceutical scientist, someone who studies medicine and makes medicine,” he said. “I’m not dead set on it. I’m really testing out stuff. I also want to look into the engineering field, maybe civil engineering, or become a biologist.”
Moore said he started coming to the club in January 2018.
“Originally, it was just supposed to be me coming in,” he said. “I thought it would be fun to bring some of my friends along. When I have fun with the kids, I teach them stuff. They are very curious. They ask me a lot of questions, like about being in high school or being almost grown.”
Moore said he gets random questions from the children.
“Sometimes, I don’t know the answers to them,” he said. “But it’s just really nice being here. Every time I come in, I get hugs. I see it as a family where I can come in and be myself.”
Watson said the children at the club look up to Moore.
“He’ll come in and visit with the kids,” she said. “He’ll help volunteer in different areas, wherever he’s needed with the staff.”
Moore said the children do look up to him.
“Every time I come in, there is always someone that I see,” he said. “At first, they don’t see me as someone that they look up to, but once they get to know me more, it’s ‘let’s play this or go do that.’ It’s nice getting to know everyone.”
In addition to the $500 scholarship he received for being Youth of the Year, as a sophomore, Moore wrote an essay and won the Dub Myers Memorial Leadership Scholarship for $250.
Moore’s hobbies include drawing and being able to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
“When I was in the ninth grade, I had a friend who was a junior, and I looked up to him a lot,” Ricky Moore said. “He has tons of Rubik’s Cubes. He solved them. He brought one to school, and I wanted to know how to do that. He gave me one of his old ones. I was practicing on it. I did have to look up on the internet how to solve it. It took me a good month to even get it down.”
A video on the Boys & Girls Club of Jacksonville’s Facebook page shows Moore solving a Rubik’s Cube puzzle in 48 seconds.
That’s just one more way the club’s Youth of the Year is a standout.
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.