For Joseph Saenz, it's not where you start.

It's where you finish.

So far he's moving along quite nicely. The sophomore at Lamar High School was named Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Club of Arlington, an honor bestowed upon members who display leadership and mentorship attributes while logging community service hours.

Saenz is president of Keystone, a youth leadership group within the Boys & Girls Clubs, which is where he amassed much of his 200-plus hours of community service. But those who know Saenz say it is his giving character and affirmative attitude that endears him to his fellow members and staff.

"What I like about him is that he just makes everyone around him better,"said Boys & Girls Club Branch Manager Winston Frazier. "He's basically our leader in the teen mentor program and leadership program where they focus on academic success and community service. He really grew a lot last year and he just keeps getting better."

Saenz's beginning wasn't quite so rosy. He shuttled around to various family members when it became clear that his mother, a drug addict, mother could not take care of him.

His early years were spent in Grand Prairie, where he lived with a grandmother until her death, and after that an aunt and after that his father and stepmother.

That's when Saenz was introduced to the Boys & Girls Clubs. Reluctantly.

"It was wild, crazy, kids everywhere,"Saenz recall, of his first visit at age 12. "It seemed like a mess. At the time I didn't realize that it's what the club calls controlled chaos. Just kids having fun."

He was soon one of those kids. Saenz relished the time at the Boys & Girls Clubs with friends, learning about responsibility and leadership. Usually "an observer who waits until I can figure things out,"Saenz has learned how to lead those who might be as introverted as he used to be.

At Lamar, Saenz is involved in theater and video production. Next year he will be part of Lamar's Blue Curtain Theater troupe and is currently putting the finishing touches on a video that will be shown to the student body.

While only a sophomore, he has big plans: attend UT Austin, major in film, and become an actor-director. Other college choices are TCU and UCLA, with Julliard lingering in the background.

"It's just that I hear that school is just crazy hard to get into,"he said, laughing.

Who knows with Saenz, who because of his "rough start"feels capable of just about anything. When talking about his early years, he's philosophical - and, as has become his trademark, overwhelmingly positive.

"I got first hand experience on what to do and what not to do,"he said of his family situation. "Your parents always tell you don't do this or don't do that. But when you have a family member or parent who actually does do it, it's made me have a strong resolve not to do any of that. Stay away from drugs and alcohol and people who do that. Ultimately, in the end, they won't be positive for you."