How One Student Turned Challenges Into Fuel For Leading Her Community

A hard freeze outside, a warm surge of community inside—this Hometown Hero feature brings the spotlight to  Citlally Diaz-Mar, a student leader whose voice has traveled from Henderson County to a New York campus and back home through the MLK Unity Breakfast. We open with winter-weather realities and neighborly care, then move into a story about how youth leadership grows when mentors, families, and schools pull in the same direction.Citlally unpacks what it means to value stories over trophies. Being North Carolina’s Youth of the Year mattered, but sharing the lived experience that so many young people recognize mattered more. She talks about mentors who shaped her path: Bonnie Gibson at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hendersonville, parents who welcomed debate at the dinner table, and educators who trusted students with real responsibility. Those influences, paired with the Leader in Me program from elementary through high school, gave her structure, practice, and confidence to lead with empathy and courage.We trace her decade-long journey at the Boys and Girls Club—from member to Keystone president to mentor—highlighting the Keystone Conference, peer leadership, and coaching the next Youth of the Year candidate. She challenges a common myth: the Club is not only for kids in crisis; it’s for every kid who benefits from diversity of peers, supportive adults, and a chance to grow outside their bubble. It’s a portrait of youth development that is inclusive, practical, and rooted in local community.Along the way, we keep one eye on the region’s rhythms—storm prep, checking on neighbors, and a real estate market that keeps moving even in icy weeks—because life transitions don’t wait for clear roads. If you care about youth leadership, mentorship, after-school programs, and the kind of unity that comes from listening first, this conversation will stick with you.Subscribe for more Hometown Hero stories, share this episode with someone who mentors young leaders, and leave a review with the mentor who most shaped your life.