‘Be the change:’ How a local teen center turns around the lives of young people

By Robert Grant, Action News Jax, June 13, 2023

2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida Youth of the Year nominee and budding entrepreneur Janiya Early chats with Action News Jax about her high school success and future plans for college and a career as a Criminal Defense Attorney.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — School may be out across Duval County, but the learning continues at local summer programs. The Ed White Teen Center serves about 60 teens during the summer months.

“People thought I was going to go down the wrong road. They didn’t really see a bright future for me because of how I acted,” Janiya Early, an Ed White High School graduate, said.

That was how her story began, but it is far from how it ended. She was taught her greatest lesson without a textbook: “be the change.”

“The teen center actually helped me put that in motion. It helped me be the change I wanted to be,” Early said.

The Ed White Teen Center is run by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. It was the first to open inside a Duval high school and became Janiya’s family and the reason she was able to graduate with top honors this year. She’s now headed to Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University. From there she hopes to enter law school and become a criminal defense attorney.

“Sometimes you are innocent you need someone to believe in you,” she said.

Just like Janiya’s home away from home believed in her. The Ed White Teen Center offers after-school and summer programs with everything from a robotics lab to a recording studio. It serves teens who might not otherwise have the opportunity for free.

“We’re in the communities and neighborhoods that need us most. And we want to be in those communities,” Wyatt Parlette, Vice President of Operations for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, said.

This year, the organization’s summer programs are at capacity in Duval, serving about 2,000 kids per day. However, there is still limited availability at the seven Clay County locations which offer a free six-week camp. This is the first summer season for those locations. You can get more information here: Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida (bgcnf.org).

More About Janiya

Through the support of our Ed White Teen Center’s programming, Janiya was able to rise above her hardships, excel academically and will now graduate at the top of her class from Edward H. White High School.

During her time at the Club, Janiya:

Maintained a position within the National Honors Society throughout high school
Was nominated and competed for her Club’s 2023 Youth of the Year award
Was elected Student Government Class President from 2022-2023
Held the title of ‘Miss Generation WOW’ from 2021-2022 as a member of the Generation WOW group
Led her High School Cheerleading Team as Cheer Captain
Became a budding entrepreneur with her own growing business
Will attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, majoring in Criminal Justice, and hopes to provide a voice to those in need as a future Criminal Defense Attorney
Participated in the AVID program and BGCNF’s Drama Matters program where she learned to use the arts to combat her anxiety

More Successful Graduates