CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea -- The Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith Youth Center, also known as the new Teen Center, officially opened its doors, here, Feb. 7.
The center was relocated from Bldg. 570 to the new location in Bldg. 6350, to accommodate the growing student population and to place it closer to the schools.
This new facility provides a place for Humphreys Middle and High School students to hang out after school, where they can engage in multiple activities, learn and grow, and make new friends.
The center offers game rooms, with board and electronic games, ping pong and pool tables, computer rooms, leadership clubs, field trips, and volunteer opportunities, to name a few. On average, more than 170 students visits the center everyday.
"The purpose of this new facility is to give middle school and high school students an opportunity to be engaged and do activities after school," said Brett Meehan, the USAG Humphreys Youth Center director. "We also have student clubs, where they are able to build their college resumes and get volunteer hours."
Last year, students who were in the Keystone Club had more than 600 volunteer service hours.
"The high school students earned their volunteer hours by helping and assisting the Jacob's Home, an orphanage in Pyeongtaek," he said. "They also wrote letters to kids who lived in a small village in Kenya."
Meehan said that getting to know the kids and seeing how they grow from the leadership programs, is a huge part of making his job interesting.
"The most interesting part about my job is being with the kids and helping them grow," said Meehan. "They come in everyday, and share their stories about what happened at school or what happened over the weekend, or we just spend time playing games.
"I also get to do leadership programs with them," he said. "Last year, I took a student to Okinawa for a competition. It's amazing to see them mature from being students at Humphreys and then seeing them getting ready for college."
The Teen Center also has hands-on cooking clubs, such as the Korean Cooking Club, where the students learn authentic and fun ways to cook Korean meals. They also go on field trips to food academies in Seoul, to learn more about the different kinds of food and various cooking classes.
"We have cooking, baking, and art clubs for students and these activities are designed for them," said Jennifer Balunsong, a Child and Youth Program assistant. "The way they interact or give the eagerness to do activities in the facility, makes me feel that we are building good relationships with each other. There are so many fun things to do at this center. It's a great place to be."
Students receive one guest pass for their first visit to the center. However, after that first visit, they must be registered with Child and Youth Services to return to the facility.
For more information about the center or registration, please call DSN 755-1077 or 0503-355-1077.
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