Celebrate Youth: Vivian Nguyen

Vivian Nguyen. Photo courtesy of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

Pinnacle High School sophomore Vivian Nguyen will be honored at the Celebrate Youth Gala & Auction on Saturday, March 31, at Talking Stick Resort. She is one of eight outstanding youth competing to advance to the state Youth of the Year competition.

Vivian says the Club’s Vestar Branch gave her a clearer perspective on life. Over the years she has learned how to find opportunities and take advantage of resources available to her in order to get ahead.

Celebrate Youth is the Club’s premier fundraising event. Individual tickets are $125. The black tie event begins with a hosted bar at 5:30pm, followed by dinner, a live auction and the Youth of the Year Ceremony.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale provide youth development services that instill strong core values and life-enhancing skills in a safe environment. The programs help promote healthy lifestyles, good character and academic success. For more information, visit bgcs.org.

Vivian’s speech

I remember getting my first pair of glasses. I remember when the teacher wrote on the board and I had to squint just to make out one word. I remember the moment when I put on my brand new pair of glasses. Everything was so clear, I fully realized what I hadn’t been seeing right. Now, glasses are a part of my everyday life and this experience is like my Boys & Girls Club story.

As a kid, I was looking at life with an unclear perspective. Before going to the Boys & Girls Club, I attended a small private school that had an after-school program called Extended Care. It was nothing compared to what the Club is. Everyday, they would hand us a snack and we were free to do what we wanted. There were no programs or clear-cut activities; everything was very unstructured. The thing I see when I reflect back is that there were no chances for me to learn about myself and my life.

My first year at the Boys & Girls Club Vestar Branch swept the fuzziness from my eyes and let me see things in a new and clear way just like my glasses did. The first person I met was the Education Coordinator at the time. I never imagined she would be the one who would encourage and support me and help get me through my first year at Vestar. She gave me my first opportunities by introducing me to programs that taught me not only leadership and respect, but gave me experiences of a lifetime. She started my Club career and provided everything I needed to get that clear perspective. She was basically my first pair of glasses.

Now that glasses are a part of my everyday life, I see everything more clearly. From the values that I have learned in the various programs I am in, to the everlasting friendships I have made, I realize these are just a few things that give me that everyday clarity.

A small girl with an unclear perspective in the world? Not anymore. Now, I am a girl who has found her perfect pair of glasses and that’s the Boys & Girls Club. I thank the Vestar Branch for all the great things I have done and making my life, a lot clearer.

Celebrate Youth: Alyssa Coughenour

Alyssa Coughenour. Photo courtesy of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

Pinnacle High School senior Alyssa Coughenour will be honored as Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale’s Youth of the Year.

Alyssa credits the Club’s Thunderbirds Branch for teaching her the importance of respect — both giving and earning it. She aspires to attend Duke University to study public relations.

Alyssa will be honored at the Celebrate Youth Gala & Auction on Saturday, March 31, 2012, at Talking Stick Resort.

The gala is the Club’s premier fundraising event. Individual tickets are $125. The black tie event begins with a hosted bar at 5:30pm, followed by dinner, a live auction and the Youth of the Year Ceremony.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale provide youth development services that instill strong core values and life-enhancing skills in a safe environment. The programs help promote healthy lifestyles, good character and academic success. For more information, visit bgcs.org.

Alyssa’s speech

My facial muscles tense, my forehead wrinkled, I fixated my eyes on the inside of my eyelids. Moments earlier, they had been forced shut by an intruding red blindfold and the hands of someone whom I trusted. She twisted the cloth behind my head to ensure my blindness.

It was two years ago at the PROUD Lock In, a Boys and Girls Club event, and it was the single experience that embodies what I’ve learned about respect.

The first experience I can remember about respect was when I was Kindergarden. My name being Alyssa sounds similar to Listen, and so when the word was said through the microphone, I always perked up. Feeling like a clever Kindergardener, I realized Laura was not talking to me and I could keep talking during announcements. But the day Laura actually said my name in front of all my peers, I learned maybe I shouldn’t talk while others are talking- a basic rule of respect, but the foundation for what I’d learn in years to come.

At the club, I’d show up in my metallic purple pants and my bright polka dot backpack. I had an odd fashion sense back then, but not once did I receive a rude remark, not once did I feel weird in my purple pants. It wasn’t like that at school. At school, comments about my purple pants and poofy hair made me want to hide. It was when I got to the club that I could be myself and that I got respect.

At a young age, I learned how to respect others. However, it was the PROUD lock-in that taught me why respect was so important.

When I was blinded at the event, it only took me a few minutes to realize how dependent I was on other people. Being blind opened my eyes to circumstances other people have to live with, and I experienced first-hand what it would be like if I was not as fortunate as I am.

To this day, you’ll find the framed PRIDE Award, an award I received at the PROUD Lock-in, on top of the antique rollover desk in my room. It reminds me of the most important lesson I’ve learned in the past eighteen years- respect. People who respect others unique differences are proud of themselves for appreciating everyone regardless of their color, disabilities, or quirks. Thus, pride lies in respect, and respect, thanks to the Thunderbirds Branch, is something I have begun to fully comprehend.