Oak Harbor teen turns from ‘angry child’ to Youth of the Year

Published 4:00 am Saturday, February 7, 2015

Nikki Barone can laugh now when she thinks back to the time she first met Erika Aguilar.

It was the fall of 2007 and Barone was still relatively new to the staff at the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Harbor.

From day one, Aguilar, then a sixth-grader at Oak Harbor Middle School, posed a unique challenge.

“She was very angry as a child,” Barone said. “She just didn’t like anybody.

“When I first met Erika I was 22. I also was learning my role here … and how to work with kids. I wasn’t used to that kind of attitude.”

Seven and a half years later, Aguilar has turned into the Oak Harbor organization’s poster child.

Aguilar, 18, recently beat out finalists from 18 other Boys & Girls clubs to land Snohomish County Youth of the Year honors.

She was grouped with Snohomish County because clubs from Oak Harbor and Coupeville are units that are part of that county’s Boys & Girls Club system.

Aguilar, a two-time Oak Harbor Youth of the Year winner, earned a $1,500 scholarship based on three essays she wrote and a speech she delivered in front of a panel of judges in Mukilteo Jan. 29.

Next up is the state competition March 24-25 in Olympia.

“This is a milestone for us,” said Norrie Perreault, program director at Oak Harbor. “We’re always kind of like the forgotten club on the island.”

Aguilar’s transformation is one that Perreault and Barone can tease her about now since the days of the awkward, shy and angry little girl are such a stark contrast to the confident young adult she’s become.

Aguilar is now a freshman at Skagit Valley College and works part-time at the Boys & Girls Club, where she oversees the kindergarten program.

Her dedication to the club is partly why she was recently honored.

Youth of the Year is the premier recognition program for Boys & Girls Club members, honoring them for their service to the club and community, academic success, and strong moral character.

In her three-minute speech, she was asked to talk about her own personal brand, her healthy lifestyle and the importance of academics in her life.

“She walked in with confidence and poise,” said Barone, Oak Harbor’s unit director.

When she walked into Oak Harbor’s Boys & Girls Club in 2007, it was an entirely different story.

Her family had moved to Oak Harbor from Japan, where her father had been stationed in the Navy.

Aguilar admitted that she was “shy and awkward” back then and suffered with a language barrier. Her parents thought the Boys & Girls Club might provide more socialization and additional guidance to help her come out of her shell.

“I just felt better being by myself,” said Aguilar, whose mother is Filipino. “I didn’t have to worry about anybody else’s feelings or worry about having conversations with them.”

Perreault saw Aguilar’s silent defiance as a personal challenge.

Her body language was clear that she didn’t want to be anywhere near the Roller Barn, but that didn’t bother Perreault.

“I think she used the word that I ‘galvanized’ her,” Perreault said. “I irritated her so much; I wouldn’t leave her alone.”

Slowly, there was progress.

“I would turn around and see her distance (close) as each day would pass by,” Perreault said. “If I had a camera, you could see the steps she took closer to me. She got closer and closer and closer. I took her under my wing.

“I knew there was something in that little girl that needed guidance.”

Perreault said such challenges are part of why she works with youth, and transformations such as Aguilar’s are part of the rewards.

“I love each and everyone of these kids,” Perreault said. “The ones who are withdrawn are the ones who attract me the most.

“She’s turned out to be an amazing young lady.”

Aguilar earned a 3.6 grade-point average at Oak Harbor High School. At Skagit Valley College, she is pursuing a degree in the medical field.

She’s using the money she’s earned working at the Boys & Girls Club and from scholarships she’s received from Youth of the Year to pay for her tuition.

Aguilar is the first Youth of the Year to represent Oak Harbor at the state competition since the Oak Harbor unit started falling under the umbrella of Snohomish County about eight years ago, Perreault said.

She’s the biggest, latest success story from inside the century-old barn that rattles with the constant footsteps of youth.

Oak Harbor’s Boys & Girls Club had 402 members in 2014.

Each day after school, roughly 135 kids come to the Roller Barn to work on homework and participate in activities.

A staff of seven is on hand to help and is always on the lookout for those kids who need that little extra push and help like Aguilar did.

“She is the reason we have organizations like this,” Barone said. “She was one of those children that needed a million chances, and you can’t give up on those kids.”