Lynn Classical senior named Youth of the Year

LYNN – Lynn teen Jonathan Severe credits the Boys & Girls Club for helping him become the man he is today.”There are no words to describe what they have done for me,” the Lynn Classical High School senior said.The teen has been a member of the club for 12 years now and spends much of his time volunteering there. He was recently awarded the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn Youth of the Year award.”It feels great. It’s such an honor,” Severe said about the award. “It’s such a blessing. I have to thank my family and the staff here. Without them I would have never gotten this award.”Currently he serves as the president in the club’s leadership group entitled “Keystone Club” by involving himself in serving food at My Brother’s Table, collecting clothes for the Salvation Army and organizing park cleanups throughout the community.”It’s a really big responsibility,” Severe said. “I love doing it though.”He is also part of the Touch Club where he influences young Lynn youth to make the right choices in life.He said that volunteering and being an active member of the community was ingrained in him since he was a child.”I was raised on the discipline to help others. It’s really just a part of my personality,” he said.One of the aspects he loves about volunteering at the club is working with young children.”I love kids. They always put a smile on my face. A lot of the times I walk in and they give me a high five or hug me. It’s great,” he said.Severe said that while he helps teach kids the right path in life to take, the kids at the club in return have taught him a lot about himself and life.”They have taught me how to have fun,” he said. “Sometimes, when you become an adult you forget how to have fun. I look at them and think why not.”Severe believes the Boys & Girls Club in Lynn has had a major positive impact on the community.”You always here people say ‘Lynn, Lynn the city of sin,’ I think the kids here are proving that statement wrong,” he said. “The kids of the city of Lynn are the epitome of the future.”Severe is planning on attending college in the fall either at the University of Massachusetts or a local community college. He will be majoring in psychiatry. However, he has dreams of becoming an actor or a television host.Saying goodbye to the club is a reality that Severe is not willing to face quite yet.”I’m going to miss all my advisors and everyone here. I have learned a lot of life lessons here,” he said. “They have helped me become who I am today. I am caring, smart and energetic because of them.”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].