Senior Essay 35

School has helped me begin my journey into education and provided opportunities with after-school programs. Something school cannot teach someone is active discipline and leadership. At the end of the day, school is a gateway for opportunities that can only be opened if the beholder has chosen to open it.
I have committed my time to attending school and participating in after-school activities. This could not have been done without discipline and concentration on the end goal of completing high school to pursue my career. With a GPA of 3.7, I’ve balanced personal life, work, school, and after-school activities, along with dealing with the death of my uncle, which affected my family and me deeply. Throughout these trials and tribulations, I’ve continued to work towards a better, more independent life where I can support my family as a first-generation son of immigrants who came from poverty. I’ve always seen my mother work tirelessly at her job and want her to have a better life, as she has given to me. Not only that, but I want to pursue my natural interests.
My after-school activities include being a member of the Varsity Baseball Team, Robotics Team, and the Varsity Tennis Team. These activities all include teamwork and competition. I learned to make important decisions in a split second and to handle the responsibility of a loss, helping me grow as a leader. In addition to sports, I am involved in more community-based leadership clubs such as Imagine Club, Youth Lead KC, Student Government, and the Church Youth Group for St. John Francis Regis Catholic Church. This instilled a sense of community and creative thinking skills to solve real-world issues and encourage others to do so. For example, in Imagine Club, I encouraged the specially abled to have a sense of community and creativity through various parties and activities I planned out, and as captain of the Imagine Club, I led them through each activity.
In the church youth group, I accomplished more of the same, encouraging the youth to engage in the gospel and create a sense of community. Within Student Government, I planned out school events and created designs and themes. Whereas in Youth Lead KC, we addressed real problems in the community, and we won first place with our idea of delightful delivery care packages. I was given the job of recording an interview with the people of the community on what they struggled with, in which people said Harvesters could expand with more utilities. We gave out care packages to the community through Harvesters, which included toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. This addressed the fact that Harvesters lacked self-care products, which led to people in the community not having the supplies to care for themselves.
My favorite after-school activity was boxing, which was different in terms of conditioning and discipline. Waking up everyday with the same rhythm building a schedule around boxing, building my discipline.
In terms of volunteering, I volunteered for “MY REGION WINS!”, a grassroots, nonprofit, organization, through Pro-X. I also volunteered for the Hispanic Development Fund by running a stand at Fiesta Hispana. Lastly, I engaged in an interior design client-connected project with the Real World Learning Center to make a school apparel store, where I made the floor plan and sourced furniture, and learned how to start a business from the start.
I think leadership is encouraging others to find their true purpose/goal in life and doing all that’s possible in your power to help them. In the future, I hope to bring these skills into the real world, and solve real-world issues. Not only through architecture but through the church, boxing, volunteering, and leading/helping nonprofit organizations for the betterment of the community, while balancing a school life.
I want to continue boxing, and eventually make it to the Olympics one day, inspiring others in my gym to get further in their journey as well. I also hope to one day become a boxing coach in my own gym, that I’ve personally designed.
I hope after I graduate I’m able to give back to the community and open their eyes on why college should be an option in life. As a low income Mexican Hispanic, I know the struggle of not enough money for your goals. I want to start my own architecture firm, and give profits to scholarships for others within the community so they won’t have to worry about their income impeding on their education journey. My goal is to lead others into pursuing a higher dream/goal in life, whether it be boxing or college, I want all to pursue it without the financial hardships of life.
I hope to continue helping the church, and one day design a cathedral for the catholic church. I plan on continuing to give to the church and spread the word of God to the youth through fun activities that will not only engage but also teach the importance of the gospel.
I will portray true leadership in the future, and create a better future for those who need the assistance/guidance. I hope you can see the promise in my vision, and sincerely consider me for this scholarship.