Pittsburgh student pitches in, takes national honor
-
Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year Nick Foley, on the grounds of the Sarah Heinz House. Along with the honor, he won scholarship money, a new car and gets to meet President Barack Obama on Oct 5.
Share with others:
Before Nicholas Foley moved to Pittsburgh, not much in his life was safe. He remembers his father abandoning him and his mother, leaving them to Boston-area homeless shelters and to the boyfriends who beat them both. Then, when he was 6, his mother left him at school one day and never came back.
He lived in one foster home after another -- sometimes with strangers, sometimes with family members -- for a year. And then his aunt, Karen Foley of the North Side, brought him to Pittsburgh, adopted him and enrolled him in sports programs at the Sarah Heinz House Boys & Girls Club when he was 7.
Nicholas, now 17 and a senior at Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, has spent time six days a week for the past decade participating in nearly every program and community service project the North Side club offers.
This week, that commitment and leadership ability helped earn him recognition by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as the 2011-2012 National Youth of the Year, along with $61,000 in scholarships, a new car and a visit with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Oct. 5.
Along with his aunt, the volunteers and mentors at the Sarah Heinz House changed his life with their emphasis on developing his personal character, respect for others and belief in himself, Nicholas said.
"Even if I didn't have a program, it was a place to hang out, it was a safe place," said Nicholas, who plans to study engineering at Penn State University next fall and eventually to start his own civil engineering firm. "Every little thing we did -- especially now that I'm older -- I can see how everything we did helped shape my future."
The Youth of the Year Program, begun in 1947, selects a young person each year who has "overcome enormous odds and demonstrated exceptional character and accomplishments" including "service to their Club and community, academic performance and contributions to their family," according to the national club.
Each of the more than 4,000 local clubs in the United States and on military bases in Europe and Asia nominates one member to represent it in the contest for that year.
This week, five finalists including Nicholas traveled to Washington, D.C., where his win was announced at a congressional breakfast.
First Published September 24, 2011 12:00 am
