Nicole Mendoza

Nicole Mendoza has been involved in the Boys & Girls Club movement in some form for nearly 21 years. She first joined the Boys & Girls Club for swim lessons when she was five years old and swam competitively on her Club’s swim team until the sixth grade. In high school, Nicole volunteered her time as a tutor at the Club’s Power Hour homework assistance program and even helped develop a weekly trivia activity for the summer program. After graduating from high school, Nicole attended Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, HI and received a bachelor’s degree in Biology. In September 2007, she returned home to New Jersey after four years at which time she decided to continue where she had left off and volunteer at her local Boys & Girls Club. This led to an employment opportunity for Nicole at the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield as the reading program coordinator. Nicole slowly took on more responsibilities as the Education Coordinator overseeing all of the Club’s educational programming ranging from the computer room, art room, gym and games room. She started a Torch Club, a small group character and leadership development program for youth ages 11 to 13, and eventually became the advisor for the Keystone Club, a similar program for teens ages 14 to 18. In July 2010, Nicole was promoted to Education & Teen Coordinator and has since been instrumental in establishing a new teen room in the Club and increasing the organization’s teen membership.