 |
Steve
Osemwenkhae 
As a boy, Steve Osemwenkhae (pronounced
Oh-SEM-a-High) “wanted to be an artist. But I was shy. I played
Nintendo and watched TV,” he says. In 1995, a friend took him to
the Computer Clubhouse. Then 15, Osemwenkhae “didn’t want
to go. I was cocky. I used to try to fight people. Then, I’d leave.”
But
the Clubhouse energy brought him back. “First, all I did was surf
the Internet.” But when a Clubhouse mentor challenged him to be
creative, Osemwenkhae experimented with Adobe Photoshop and saw he could
use computers to make art. As he scanned and colored his sketches, his
talent was obvious. He developed a command of Adobe Illustrator and the
Macromedia Flash animation program, expanding to photography and videography.
His Nigerian–born parents saw the Clubhouse “was good for me.” In 2001, he designed and animated the logo for the Museum of Science’s engineering exhibits and activities. Now, a junior at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Osemwenkhae, 23, is majoring in art and minoring in anthropology. He’s helping develop a special flagship Clubhouse website and a website for a small nonprofit sending computers to schools in Nigeria.
Osemwenkhae, who lives in East Boston, has made
lasting friends at the Clubhouse. Its staff and mentors “helped
me learn valuable tools in life.” To give back,
he volunteers as a mentor to other youth. “They’re not only
part of the Clubhouse. They’re family who come together, learn and
aren’t restrained for being who they are.” Many Saturdays,
he can still be found in the Clubhouse at the Museum of Science. He hopes
to contribute to the Clubhouse Network annual meeting in Washington, DC,
this fall.
“The Clubhouse keeps kids from the street and opens up new worlds,” says his father, Paul Osemwenkhae. “It brightened Steve’s life and knowledge. He’s changed a lot.” When the Clubhouse won the 1997 Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation, Steve was one of those representing the Clubhouse at the awards ceremony. When Intel launched the Clubhouse Network in 2000, he was a featured speaker with Senator Ted Kennedy, Intel CEO Craig Barrett and actor-performer Sinbad. “I couldn’t believe it. My son talked like a man,” said Paul Osemwenkhae.
Steve‘s work has been featured on a website
about youth and street violence produced by the PBS television show Point
of View. His work has been displayed in Boston’s Cyberarts Festival
and the Clubhouse’s 2003 Digital Studio exhibit. Through the Clubhouse-to-Career
program, he worked summers at Bell Atlantic, now Verizon. In 2000, he
worked at Intel’s Hudson, MA, microchip manufacturing plant. 
His
supervisor at Intel said that with his Web design experience from the
Clubhouse, Osemwenkhae “quickly contributed” creating a framework
of Web pages so Intel engineers could share data. In 2001, Osemwenkhae
managed the Clubhouse summer program at Boston’s United South End
Settlements.
Osemwenkhae recently created a new T-shirt with the message “S.O.S. Simply.Out.Standing.” He’s also developing his own website. His goal is to finish college and focus on a career. He hopes eventually to marry, have a family and his own Web-based photography, graphic design and Web production company. He says, “I used to be lonely. Now, I’m happy living my life. I like working with people, helping them. It doesn’t matter what age. It’s fun.”