They work at the Condon Community Center Juniors summer program and enjoy interacting with the kids and being part of something special. They love their jobs and go to work with smiles on their faces every day. They are Jacqulyn Brooks and Rodolfo Arias.
Jacqulyn Brooks, 19, is the daughter of Jennifer and Thomas Brooks. She has a younger sister named Emma, a younger brother named Thomas, and two family betta fish named Felipe and Sushi.
Jacqulyn graduated from Boston Latin Academy in 2015. At BLA, she was an Honor Roll student and took AP classes in economics, American government, and English. She was a student ambassador and was involved in a variety of volunteer endeavors, such as conducting school tours and assisting teachers at parent-teacher meetings. Jacqulyn began her college career at Framingham State College last year and will be a sophomore in September. She is majoring in communications with a minor in criminal justice. Upon graduation, she plans on pursuing a career in the law enforcement field.
In the world of sports, Jacqulyn played in the South Boston Girls Softball League for seven seasons. She’ll never forget one night game at Evans Field when she was in the outfield. As she was standing there ready for action, one of her contacts fell out. At that moment, the batter hit a line drive in her direction. She was nervous, about to panic, but regained her confidence and caught the ball. As they say, all’s well that ends well.
“I miss playing,” she said. “It was something I could do after school to keep me busy and active. I had a lot of fun and will never forget those days.”
Admittedly a better student than an athlete, Jacqulyn nevertheless stayed busy. She played in the South Boston Youth Soccer League for six years. She was a cheerleader in the South Boston Pop Warner Football Program for one year, and ran track at BLA as a sophomore and a senior. In her leisure time now, she works out at the Curley Community Recreation Center, runs the boulevard around Castle Island, and plans to run cross country at Framingham State this upcoming schoolyear.
Jacqulyn works as a hostess and food runner at the Cheers Restaurant located on Beacon Hill and also as a senior supervisor at the Condon CC Junior’s summer program. She interacts with the kids and supervisors the junior counselors.
“I really like working here,” she said. “I like this age group, they’re fun, and the counselors I supervise are doing a great job with the kids also.”
Rodolfo Arias, 15, is the son of Midriz Arias and Arinson Pena. He has a sister named Nashly Baez, a brother named Jahaziel Pena, and four family parakeets. Rodolfo went to the Condon Elementary School, Up Academy, and then last year attended the John D. O’Bryant School which is located on New Dudley Street in Roxbury. At Up Academy, Rodolfo had straight A’s and he continued his Honor Roll caliber grades at the O’Bryant.
Rodolfo played one season for the Saint Vincent’s CYO hoop team, will never forget the three-pointer he banked off the backboard to win the game at the buzzer, but baseball is his game. He played on his school’s JV baseball team last spring. This summer he also played in the Boston Red Sox RBI League and was managed by George Benner.
Rodolfo simply loves baseball. It’s in his blood and someday would love to play professional baseball.
“My family’s from the Dominican Republic,” he said. “My family loves this sport and I do too. I play and practice every chance I get all year round and can play any position. It’s a great sport.”
Kristin Dowd, the director of the Condon CC Juniors summer program, is so glad these two youngsters work for the program.
“Jacqulyn’s a sweetheart,” she said. “She’s really a big help and very dependable. And Rodolfo’s also a great kid. He works hard and does a tremendous job as a junior counselor. He enjoys working with the kids and goes beyond his job description when he helps out cleaning up.
“Both of them are great assets to this program,” she added. “They keep the kids busy and engaged. They make the kids laugh and take their jobs seriously. They are a good team and I’m blessed to have them in this program.”