Kids at the Seattle Rotary Boys & Girls Club, in Seattle’s Central District, received special surprise guests last Wednesday as Seattle Sounders FC Defender Dylan Remick, Luke Bilyk, who stars on TeenNik’s “Degrassi,” and Yvonne Thomas, a director at Microsoft, stopped by to honor a young volunteer: Corey Person, the club’s 2015 “Youth of the Year.”
The visit was both to celebrate Corey for his many years of volunteering at the club and to build excitement for We Day Seattle, a stadium-sized educational and youth empowerment event, which took place the following day at Seattle’s Key Arena.
“Corey, I heard about what you’ve accomplished and I just wanted to say congratulations and we look forward to seeing you at We Day,” said Remick, before presenting Corey with a Sounders jersey.
“Corey is an incredible role model for younger kids in this club, especially in the computer lab,” said Yvonne Thomas, who runs Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative to help create opportunities for youth. “He’s taught himself to code, and he shares his love of technology and the possibilities technology can open up with the kids around him, which is great to see.” Through YouthSpark, Microsoft supports both Boys & Girls Clubs and We Day Seattle.
Corey is a senior at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish. From the age of eight, his mom dropped him off at the Seattle Rotary Club on her way to work a few blocks away. Corey says the club had such a positive impact on him as a child that he transitioned, more than five years ago, into a volunteer.
Corey has always been drawn to the club’s computers. He’s shared that interest, teaching younger kids at the club how to play Minecraft, the construction game that serves as a coding and computer science lesson in itself. He’s demonstrated games he’s personally created with his coding skills.
“I built computer games to help younger kids take their minds off their problems, relax and clear their heads,” Corey explains. And in the process, he’s sparked their interest in technology.
Pointing to a recent Boston Consulting Group report showing that only 9 out of 100 children born in Washington will ultimately end up working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, Seattle Rotary Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Patrick Carter emphasizes that Corey’s work getting younger kids excited in technology is a major contribution.
“Especially when we’re talking about kids from lower-income backgrounds, it’s incredibly important to have role models who say, ‘I can do this and so can you,’” Patrick explains. “That’s exactly why we promote STEM among our attendees and why Corey has been so important to this organization and the children we serve.”
