Boys and Girls Club of Elgin honors upstanding kids
Terrance Allen likes to say that CPR - as in, character, persistence and reaction - turned him into the person and athlete he is today, and credited the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin with much of that.
A senior at Elgin High School, Terrance was named the club's Youth of the Year on Thursday night in an event held at The Haight in Elgin. He'll be competing later in the spring for the statewide title.
"The Boys & Girls Club gave me a place where I can learn and grow," said Terrance, who's been a member for about six years.
He earned an academic scholarship to University of Dubuque, where he'll continue playing football, he said. "If it wasn't for the club, I probably wouldn't be as good or as rounded an athlete as I am now."
Briauna Brown, an 8th grader at Larsen Middle School, earned the 8th grade youth award.
The club was a safe place that allowed her to be herself during a difficult period in her life, when she and her mother were moving from hotel to hotel. "My school, the club and my mom helped me stay strong," said Briauna, who's attended the club for five years.
The club also taught her about leadership, which is all about being respectful, kind and open-minded, she said. Martin Luther King Jr. is her role model, she added.
Briauna said she wants to become a doctor. "From the time I was a kid I always wanted to take care of people, so I thought, 'Why not be a doctor?'"
Other club members in the running for the awards were Sharon Garry, a senior at Larkin High School, Dayanara "DeDe" Contreras, a senior at Elgin High School, Nicholas Hernandez, an 8th grader at Kimball Middle School, Jacqueline Prado and 8th grader at Ellis Middle School, and Jylisa Straight, a 7th grader at Abbott Middle School.
The students were interviewed by a panel of judges including Debbie Rhattigan, an administrative assistant for Toyota Financial Services, which sponsored the event. Terrance and Briauna both received an iPad and keyboard.
"Every single one of them had a great story," Rhattigan said. "The impact that the club has had on them is powerful."