On Feb. 25, the Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound gathered 600 guests into the Hotel Murano to announce the seven Youth of the Year candidates at the Club’s “Legacy of Hope” event, in addition to highlighting each of the candidates’ own individual accomplishments in terms of being active in their community and inspirations to others around them.

The top three candidates gave speeches for the audience, but one of the candidates, Christopher Thomas, had no idea what he was about to hear following his.

“It’s still a shocker because people were hearing what I had to say and where I came from. They thought it was a good speech but I thought I was being myself. I didn’t want to win because it was for the Boys & Girls Club. Others wanted to win because they wanted the award, but my speech proved that the Boys & Girls Club helped me from the start and it got to a point where it’s helping me get to my career,” Thomas said.

Each contestant in the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound Youth of the Year competition were judged in the areas of home and family, moral character, community, school, service to the club, life goals, obstacles overcome, essays, poise and public speaking.

Thomas has been a member of his Boys & Girls Club (both of the South End and the East Side branches) since he was 6 years old. He has been volunteering at that location since he was 9 years old, first as a junior staff member - cleaning up, hanging out and being a friend to other kids - then the next year he began volunteering by being a staff speaker for the kids and giving kids’ point of view to the staff. Now he has been teaching krump dancing to a group of young boys for the past three years. He is also a member of the program Upward Bound, which helps participants prepare for college.

“It’s a growing relationship. I’ve gone from a shy kid to helping, helping more, becoming junior staff to teacher. It’s improved my life, it’s getting better and better, and I’m going to graduate with more than enough credits than I need. It’s crazy and this is only the beginning.”

Thomas affirms that all of the service he did came as a result of his growing up in his local Boys & Girls Club. The Lincoln High School senior grew up in a single-parent household in Tacoma and had a self-described harsh life.

“My mom wanted us to grow up as perfect people and I didn’t see what my mom saw. But the Boys & Girls Club helped me see what I wanted to do. But my junior year of high school I started doing better, getting A’s and B’s. I’m doing so much with Youth of the Year, receiving the Gates Achiever’s Scholarship and the Boys & Girls Club helped me see through this,” Thomas stated.

Thomas’ plans for post-graduation are to attend Evergreen State College and pursue a career as an architect specifically for the purpose of building low-cost, better-built, durable homes for low-income families. He is currently awaiting his test scores, but notes that he already feels at home and welcomed when he visits the Evergreen campus in Olympia.

“I painted a mural there with Upward Bound, and it already feels natural, like home. I’ve experienced Evergreen life. All people’s beliefs about it are it’s filled with hippies with dreads. It’s a calm place to be, a distinctive place to be where you don’t get grades but real information from teachers. It’s a place where you don’t want to worry about stuff.”

The 18-year-old said that he learned a great deal of what he did while at the Boys & Girls Club from three men that he met during his time there, and each one taught him that there is more to life.

“They helped me build opportunities, and made me who I am. I didn’t think I was a student who’d make it to college. My mom said I could, but I didn’t see it then. Now I can. I’ve gone through all these problems and saw that I could do better,” Thomas said.

On March 18 Thomas will represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound at the state level, where he will have the opportunity to earn a scholarship and a chance to advance to the Regional level. Regional winners receive a $10,000 scholarship and enter the National competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C. and an additional $15,000 scholarship and the opportunity to visit the White House and meet the president of the United States.

The outstanding teenager left with a few parting words of wisdom on how people should treat those around them no matter who they are.

“I just want people to listen. To the community, to all the kids, to everyone, and to try to understand where they’re coming from.”

For more information about Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, call (253) 502-4600 or visit their website at www.bg-clubs.com.