Empowerly

Student profile

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

This past summer I started the Community Care Club, a club benefiting the life-changing organizations all around our community. As the creator of the club, I have chosen to focus on providing volunteers to organizations aiding people who are medically struggling.  One of our partner organizations is Sweet Nectar Society whose mission is to provide comfort to children who are affected by serious illness, disability or injury through the art of photography and community programs. We have also partnered with The Ruth Woods Open Arms House and Trillium Kids. Both have goals to increase the quality of life for individuals battling medical issues. After having a parent diagnosed with cancer, I know that family struggles are real. I also know many students want to volunteer but don’t have the resources to connect with organizations. I decided to combine the two needs: helping students to help others in need.   

I am excited that the Community Care Club has gained over 40 members and logged over 500 service hours in the first five months! Our first event was for the Open Arms House working a fundraiser during the summer. We served root beer floats in 110-degree weather, making it enjoyable for the donors and organization members! Our efforts helped the organization get one step closer to having the funds and resources to open. Our most recent event was a fundraiser dinner for Sweet Nectar Society. At the end of the night, the founder shared how much it costs to keep the fridges at the hospital stocked for families. At that moment every club member realized how much their work truly mattered. With our help, Sweet Nectar Society raised $65,000. I know that as a student club we cannot donate thousands of dollars, but what we can do is donate thousands of hours that are just as meaningful. 

Throughout this holiday season and beyond, the Community Care Club will continue to support our partner organizations, as well as provide a way for students to feel valued through community service. 

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? 

My perfect life shattered to pieces when I came home from the Christmas parade in 7th grade. My parents sat me and my brother down to tell us my dad had been diagnosed with the big C. That's what we call cancer in my house. It's been five years since that moment, but some days it feels like a lifetime.  

Since that defining moment, everything started to get harder: school, sports, life. The Big C has shaped the way I've grown up, teaching me lessons each day: the most important one is independence. Suddenly I was in charge of taking care of myself and my little brother while my  parents were 4 hours away at the UC hospitals for doctors appointments. While my peers were busy posting on Snapchat, I was quickly becoming an adult. I learned how to cook dinner and juggle difficult daily routines like getting my brother to baseball practice and school on time. On top of these struggles, I still needed to maintain my grades and my school leadership responsibilities. I reluctantly started spending my lunches and weekends doing homework rather than hanging out with my friends. This new lifestyle pushed me to succeed, despite all of the worries and “what ifs”, because I learned life won't stop for just me. During the most challenging days, I always remembered who I was doing it all for: my dad. He is and will always be my motivation. 

Growing up in a world surrounded by the Big C has not been pleasant. However, looking back on my life, I've realized that this unfortunate circumstance changed me for the better. I am more conscious of others’ hardships and have come to understand that behind every person is a story. The Big C has taught me to be genuine because I now know firsthand that life can change instantly and that it's important to live every moment being the best version of myself. My life may not look easy on the outside but to me it’s pretty perfect, and I know I have a lot to be thankful for! 

Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

The summer going into my senior year I was presented with an amazing opportunity to help change an alarming statistic in my community. I’ve always known our area was different than other parts of California, mostly rural and ranking amongst the highest producers of agriculture in the state, but I never realized “different” also meant our county is significantly failing at reducing unwanted teen pregnancies. Although California is a national leader in reducing teen pregnancy, [name] County, my home, has the highest teen pregnancy rate in California due to the lack of reproductive education. 

I wanted to make a difference, so I decided to volunteer with ACT for Women and Girls to participate in the Free Clinic Experiment, something very different than anything I had done before. My assignment was to visit two clinics undercover and inform them that I thought I was pregnant. As class president for three years, I am comfortable talking to crowds during our school rallies, so I thought this would be a piece of cake. It turns out sitting in a clinic pretending to be in a situation that requires a pregnancy test was more terrifying than giving the Valedictorian speech at my 8th grade graduation. This assignment was harder than I ever thought it would be, but I realize promoting systemic change is not easy. I was nervous, scared, and alone. Although I was “pretending”, the feelings and emotions were real, and I kept thinking of how it must feel for teens who are actually faced with this situation.

The Free Clinic Experiment is in the process of compiling the information that my group of 5 volunteers reported. With this information, each clinic will receive a graded report including recommendations on how to raise their outreach and education to teens. I wanted to reverse the fact that teens living within my community are not as educated on pregnancy prevention as teens living in higher socioeconomic communities. I realize my contribution to this important project will not change the statistics overnight, but it is a start to something desperately needed in Tulare County.