Undergraduate / 'God has given children to the world' - Community Service/Volunteer Work [2]

Describe your participation in extracurricular activities.
What have you learned from your experience(s)?
(Examples may include: community service, volunteer work, employment, school clubs, sports, family, church, etc.)

I have been an active member of my church since I was baptized, attending mass every Saturday night, and confession once a month on Sundays. So I knew that as soon as I was old enough I wanted to teach Religious Education classes and that's exactly what I've been doing since my Freshman year of high school. I love it, I spend my Monday evenings with 42 second-graders who want nothing more than for mass to be over and for snack time to hurry up and come. I have a different class each year and behaviors, attitudes, strength and weakness vary from class to class but each year my children turn out to be an amazing group of kids. I have learned to be so much more patience than I was four years ago and I have gained an even deeper appreciation of God and kids in general. This year is the last year I will teach the second grade Religious Education because I fully intended to attend a university next out of town. This has also been the hardest year, I have become attached to my children and I have already taught them so much and watched them grow, they have done the exact same with me. It's a common belief that once children reach the "mine" phase in life they only look out for themselves for a certain period of time, that's not the case however. I have a little boy in my class this year that is significantly undeveloped in reading; he tries his hardest and gives it his all every class to keep up with the other kids. I help him as much as I can before, during and after class, but there is only so much I can do in a one-hour class period. One Monday I looked up from a table of girls I was helping to see a semi-spoiled little girl who was usually mean to the other kids, helping Joely with reading his prayers. Needless to say I was speechless, it warmed my heart and made me proud to be Marissa and Joely's teacher that day. These kids are innocent and pure with the naïveté that comes with being young; yet were able to recognize that someone needed help and act on it. I firmly believe that God has given children to the world to help people see how we should act when we lose our way and become to "grown-up" to do what we know is right.

Scholarship / Goals Influenced by Hispanic Hertiage [2]

The Hispanic community is the fastest growing community in the nation. Unfortunately the number of Hispanics that will actually attend college is relatively low. I take pride in being Hispanic; I have grown up in a secure environment providing me with a sense of unity and giving me an enormous amount of people who have always led me to believe that I am able to accomplish anything in life.

My dream has always been to attend a four-university so I can earn a degree in both psychology and sociology. Once I have my Bachelor's degree in both, I want to get my Master's and eventually a Ph.D. I want to be a children's therapist; to be an ear for them to spill that heart about whatever may be bothering them, to be a mentor for those that are mentor less and to be a director those children who have the potential to be amazing but may be going on the wrong path.

My Hispanic heritage has been a huge influencer on my dreams, as well as my mother. I have seen Hispanic girls who become pregnant during their high school years and never go any further in life because society tells them they can't. I have also seen Hispanic woman who let their husbands run the household because it is "culturally acceptable." I am leader; a Hispanic young woman who determined to make her dreams comes true and make a positive significant difference in the Hispanic community, no matter the lengths she has to go. My mother has imprinted this in my brain, that I am leader. She is one of the reasons I am so goal-driven. She has overcome many obstacles in life, she is such a strong woman and I strive to be like her.

While being a children's therapist is my long-term career goal, my goal at the moment is finish high school. Expand my knowledge as best as I can before I go to a university, I am in the process of completing this goal by taking AP classes. The teachers I have are amazing. They make sure we understand what is going on in class without babying us. While the course is demanding, I know that the weekends I choose to stay in and work on school work will pay. I know this because they already are; I am making A's in my classes because I choose to stay in, instead of going out with my friends.

I love being Hispanic, it is a satisfying feeling know that people believe the odds are against because of something you have no control over yet you prove them wrong. By eventually earn a Ph.D. I will not only bring pride to my mother and the rest of my family, I will also bring pride to what it means to be a Hispanic young woman.