AUSTIN — Eve Houser has seen the devastating effect gun violence can have on a community first hand.
"Growing up in Austin it was interesting not knowing the difference between a firecracker and a gunshot," Eve said. "Coming home and seeing a crime scene, I was told several times to walk around and find another way home."
Eve, 17, recently won the 2016 Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Youth of the Year competition. Eve, a junior at Northside College Prep High School, is a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Boys & Girls Club in East Garfield Park. Eve was awarded the Illinois prize after delivering a compassionate speech in Downstate Bloomington last month.
"It feels great to have this opportunity. I'll continue to make my club, my city and my state proud," Eve said. "I'm happy that I was given this opportunity."
Here's Eve's speech.
Ten years ago, Eve ended up at the Boys & Girls Club after being teased by neighborhood kids. She said that her siblings also frequented the club.
"I was teased for being skinny. For some reason, kids thought that was a terrible thing to be," Eve said. "At the end of the day, I'm me. I went to the club to get my confidence back. I learned to love myself again."
Eve will represent Illinois and Chicago at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national Youth of the Year competition. Five regional finalists will be selected for the national competition, which takes place in Washington, D.C., The finalists will tour the White House and meet President Obama.
“We are proud of Eve, and thrilled to have her represent Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago regionally in this prestigious youth competition, which demands the best from our young Club members,” Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago’s President and CEO Mimi LeClair said. “All Youth of the Year finalists excel in school, work to lead their communities and become role models for other young people. Eve exemplifies these qualities and we wish her all the best for the regional contest.”
Eve, who holds a 3.92 grade point average at Northside College Prep and is a member of the school's volleyball and track teams, hopes to attended University of California at Berkley and major in psychology.
"I don't have to become what people think I should be because of where I grew up," Eve said. "Not every teen is doing what we see in the media. I can be a positive that came from that community."
Once Eve is done with college, she wants to have her own mental health practice in Chicago.
"I want people to feel better about whatever it is they are going through. As I got older, I became more interested in how the brain works," Eve said. "I want to help people in any way I can."
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