A five-year member of the Dahlgren Naval Base Youth Activity Center, Rachel Archulet has been selected as the 2016-2017 Virginia State Military Youth of the Year.

Rachel is both an extremely driven Club member and student. In addition to her dedication to her Club, she also served as the National Junior Honor Society Present, Student Body President, Junior Student to Student President, and the Present of the Dahlgren Youth Activity Center Teen Program.

While maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Rachel is the founder of the Summer Intensive Dance Program and the Start Smart Program at her Club. She has had the honor of teaching several dance classes, choreograph recitals, and start her own clubs through the Youth Activity Center. Rachel is part of a local competitive dance team where she trains over 11 hours per week. At her last competition, Rachel competed her first solo and won a scholarship to compete at a national level.

Along with dance, Rachel has a passion for both academics and service. As a freshman, she has completed three years of online language courses. Her love for academics continues to shine as she was awarded the President’s Award for Academic Excellence. Rachel believes in service before self and her driving ambition is to make a positive impact on society and to be the difference in our youth. She has volunteered over 175 hours over the past year throughout her club, different military instillations, and the surrounding community. Rachel was also awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her continual service throughout her state.

As a rising sophomore in high school, she plans on graduating a year early and attending Colorado College while majoring in dance and minoring in business administration. Rachel will continue to help others reach their full potential in life while holding firm to the life lessons she has learned from the Boys and Girls Club.