Alumni Story: Juan Jimenez — "Dolphin"

I left Mexico to escape hunger and sickness at the tender age of ten. I crossed the border all alone, leaving behind my family and an abusive stepfather. I was raised in East L.A. by my grandparents, the lone grandson among thirteen aunts and uncles. I fought for everything.

At twelve, I started boxing. On my way to a competition, local gangs jumped me to force an initiation. Before the first bell rang, I was already bloodied and bruised from the fight outside the ring.

Across the street from our two-bedroom house was the Boys and Girls Club, where a man named Archie ran the basketball program. He was a selector for Pyles Boys Camp, taking applications for the summer of '82. I wasn't a candidate at first, since I couldn't speak English — so I learned my first words in English: "I want to go to camp."

I insisted, again and again, even with everything stacked against me, including a late application. That persistence is part of what Pyles looks for in every boy it selects: the drive to keep going, even when the odds aren't in your favor.