Chosen from among 3,500 teens across Chicago, Yolandis McCaskill was selected Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago’s (BGCC) Youth of the Year. Youth of the Year is Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier program that encourages Boys & Girls Club members ages 14-18 to compete on city, state, regional and national levels for scholarship awards to pursue a post-secondary education. Teens complete applications, write essays, obtain recommendations and engage in public speaking to be chosen for this esteemed honor each year.

 

McCaskill, age 18, of Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood, is a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boys & Girls Club, 2950 W. Washington Blvd, and a senior at Providence St. Mel who will graduate this May with honors. She was selected by a panel of major BGCC donors that included Crystal Reynolds of Coca-Cola, Steven Thomas of Comcast and Jessica Kies of the Chicago Bears at a May 3 awards luncheon at the Hard Rock Hotel that was hosted by NBC 5 anchor and BGCC alum Zoraida Sambolin.

 

“Yolandis was chosen to represent Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago because of her tremendous strength of character and her ability to not only endure but to succeed in the face of tremendous challenges,” said Susan G. Gallagher, Chairman of the Board, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.

 

Aside from some of the perils of drugs and violence associated with growing up on the West Side, McCaskill overcame significant tragedy in 2009 after surviving a near fatal car crash from which she was thrown through the windshield. After taking a semester off to recover, she returned to school and activities with renewed focus, realizing that she was given a second chance at life. She has maintained a 3.9 GPA, has worked a part-time job to help pay the family’s bills, has volunteered at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and has assisted her grandmother who was struck by a heart attack last year. She is an active leader in the King Club’s Keystone Club, a service and leadership organization, and the Club’s volleyball team.

 

“Most of the students I have grown up with are either locked-up in prison or dead,” said McCaskill. “My Club gives me hope that there is a brighter tomorrow for teenagers who got lost on the road to greatness. I know that when I walk through those doors, I am surrounded by staff that pushes us to believe that if we follow our dreams, anything is possible. I not only enjoy the fact that I have others to support and believe in me, but I can now say the most important quality that I have gained over the years is to believe in myself.”

 

To see Yolandis' Youth of the Year speech, click here.

 

After graduating this May as valedictorian of her class, McCaskill plans to study biomedical engineering at college next year. She has already been accepted to Marquette University and is anxiously waiting to hear from other top-tier schools.

 

At the luncheon, McCaskill was awarded $300, a laptop computer and printer. In addition to serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago throughout the next year, she will advance to compete in the state Youth of the Year competition April 8 and 9 in Chicago.

Yolandis with the 2011 Youth of the Year semi-finalists.