Paris Echoles, a UW-Madison freshman majoring in education, is currently vying for the title of Youth of the Year in Washington, D.C. in a competition affiliated with the Boys and Girls Club, a national community mentoring program.
Each of the five participants is evaluated on his contributions to his community, academic excellence and the personal challenges he has overcome. The winner is honored at the Congressional Breakfast with an opportunity to meet the President of the United States.
This year, Echoles has won his local, state and regional competitions. He currently attends UW-Madison on an $11,000 scholarship from those competitions and will be awarded another $15,000 if he is to win the national honor this week.
Echoles' father was killed when he was three and as the oldest in his family, he knew he had to help his mother support his brother and sister. For support, Echoles turned to the Stateline Boys and Girls Club, near his hometown of Beloit, Wis.
\The Boys and Girls Club became my second home,"" Echoles said. Not only did the people at the Club stress education and make him do his homework first, but they also encouraged athletics and introduced him to an intramural basketball program.
As Echoles got older, he moved up as a mentor, helping kids at the Club with homework and sports. His versatility has led to his success and popularity at the Club.
""Paris is an inspiration to members and staff at the Club. He's a huge asset to the Club because a wide variety of kids can relate to him??-not just your basketball star, but also kids who are interested in education,"" Beloit Unit Director and Echoles' advisor Chad Udell said.
Echoles strongly values education and maintained a 3.8 GPA in high school where he was a member of the National Honor Society. After receiving his scholarship money it was up to him to choose where to go to school.
""I came to Madison for educational reasons and the fact that it's not too far from my home,"" Echoles said.
At UW-Madison, Echoles said he hopes to study the same type of social work he practiced at the Club. ""The work I've done at the Club has influenced my decision to study education. I love how people have helped me and that's what I want to do-help kids growing up in similar situations like I did,"" Echoles said.
David Wilson, program director at Stateline Boys and Girls Club said, ""Paris is a great kid. He had a tough upbringing, but he ignored the outside peer pressures and persevered through a lot of things.""
When asked what he hopes the judges will see stand out the most in his application, Echoles said, ""I hope they'll see that I've always overcome major obstacles in my life.\
