Menlo Park Teen Selected as 2008 Youth of the Year

Pictures above: LEFT - 2008 McNeil Family Clubhouse Youth of the Year Judges with winner Julia Cook. (L-R Menlo Park Mayor Andy Cohen, Denise Reyff, Julia Cook, Former Mayor Kelly Fergusson and Menlo Park Police Chief Bruce Goittia. RIGHT - Julia Cook giving remarks at Youth of the Year event.

At 16, Julia Cook is poised and self-confident. She knows that she wants to be a social worker and does not want children to experience the same struggles that she has.  Julia’s determination and commitment no doubt played a role in her being select as the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula’s 2008 Youth of the Year recently. 

When Julia was 3 years old, her father was murdered by a family friend.  Shortly after her father’s death, her mom lost the house.  According to Julia, her mom did the best she could do to take care of her and her two siblings but with so much pain and distraught, she turned to drugs and wasn't able to take care of her kids.  Julia and her sister Nikia spent the next seven years essentially homeless bouncing from place to place living with relatives and friends.  Julia says the only constant thing in her life has been her sister and the Boys & Girls Club in Menlo Park which she started attending when she was 6.  In many ways, the club became home to Julia and her sister.

At the age of 10, Julia’s family thought that the best and safest thing for her was to move to Sacramento to live with her aunt.  Julia lived in Sacramento for 3 years, coming back only during the summers to see her sister. Her stay in Sacramento wasn’t easy, yes she had a roof over her head, but at times she would be without food to eat. Julia recalls having to baby sit her cousins so that she could earn some money to buy food and clothing for herself.

At the age of 13, Julia was able to leave Sacramento and returned to live with her older sister in Menlo Park who was able to obtain temporary guardianship.  For the past three years, Julia has been going to school where she is involved Track and Field, the Black Student Union and other programs, helping to take care of her neice and nephew and coming to the club where she is involved in Keystone, the club’s Leadership and Life Skill program for teens.  She currently has a 3.67 GPA and recently got a job to help her sister pay for groceries and some of the house bills.  She does this all with a smile and good attitude.

The Boys & Girls Clubs Youth of the Year program, which has been nationally sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation since 1947, recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club; academic excellence; and personal challenges and obstacles overcome. Julia competed with over a dozen youth for the Peninsula club’s top honor. She will now advance to the regional competition and potentially to the national where the winner will be recognized in the Oval Office of the White House.

Many of the youth that Julia competed with had also overcome significant challenges.  During the competition, 18 year old Manuel Contreras recalled a fateful day in June 2005 when he and some friends were walking down the street.  “We saw some rival gang members and decided to fight” he said.  Then the police came.  I ran and saw a car with the door open and the keys in the ignition. I stole the car. Next thing he knew he was in Juvenile Hall facing a multitude of charges.  He had been arrested numerous times. After being released, he was put on probation. His Probation Officer suggested he complete his Community Service Hours at the Boys & Girls Clubs in Redwood City.  This changed his life.  He was soon attending the club daily learning computer skills and how to produce movies. He liked helping little kids with their homework and quickly became a role model.  With help and encouragement by Club staff, he graduated from high school and enrolled in college.  He recently began working a Teen staff member at the club and was selected as the Youth of the Year for the Redwood City Clubhouse.