Meet Seven Bold Women With Fresh Ideas and Big Dreams
Suriya Khong Empowers Young People
The Youth Director
"No one makes it in the world alone, but with supportive and caring adults who take active interest in young people, their possibilities become limitless."
By Allison Forsyth September 17, 2020 Published in the September-October 2020 issue of Sarasota Magazine
Suriya Khong
Image: Barbara Banks
Advocating for youth and juvenile justice are such passions for Suriya Khong that she left the nonprofit sector working with struggling kids to go to law school. "I thought it would help me become a better advocate for young people," she says. But in 2017, after working as a public defender, she left the courts and returned to kids.
Khong has traveled to more than 60 countries. A quote that inspires her is from poet Mary Oliver's 'The Summer Day': 'Tell me what it is that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?'
Khong, 38, is now director of Teen Initiatives at the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County, where she has launched college and career readiness and volunteer and entrepreneurship opportunities for club members. In less than two years, her work earned her the status of one of five national finalists for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America 2019 National Youth Development Professional MVP Award.
Recently, she helped to establish the club's Youth Council, a teen-run initiative addressing social justice issues and racial inequality. She is working with Sarasota County Schools to implement culturally responsive curricula for grades K-12.
But one-on-one mentoring is where she finds the most meaningful transformation, and Khong has watched her mentees blossom into confident, successful teens and young adults. "No one makes it in the world alone, but with supportive and caring adults who take active interest in young people, their possibilities become limitless," she says.
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