Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: 3/26/22
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: Arnav Dua
Address:
Birthdate: 3/25/22 Age: 15 Sex: M / F E-mail address:
Telephone: School: Irvington High School Grade: 9th (2021-2022) Demographic Information:
Ethnicity: Indian
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional) Gender: Male
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: English and Hindi
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission? I want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission for two primary reasons. First, I am someone who is immensely interested in civics/politics. Second, the Youth Advisory Commission will allow me to further develop leaderships skills while giving back to the community. Civics and politics has always fascinated me. From watching speeches from Senators on YouTube at the age of 11 to spending hours reading the news, I have taken interest in the political structures of our nation. Civics is a way for the citizens to make an impact to their local communities. It empowers us to raise the quality of life of our community and play a role in the development of our local society. Leadership is another related discipline that I am passionate about. Several of my leadership positions have to do with the humanities/civics. For example, I am the coach of Weibel Elementary’s debate program. Leadership has always been an important part of my life and this is something that I have always been naturally interested in. Since serving on the Youth Advisory Commission is a cross- section of civics and leadership, all while helping our local community, I am interested in serving on this commission.
What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize and publicize this event?
One problem that Fremont Teens face that does not receive the attention it deserves is fitness. As society moves to a more sedentary lifestyle, the coronavirus pandemic has certainly not helped the physical and mental wellbeing of teens.
Especially in our area, from personal anecdotes, I can verify that this has been a new and time-sensitive issue. An event that we could organize to address the issue is hosting a workshop open to all Fremont teens, for free. This workshop could be held at any community center/park could conclude by providing a healthy brunch- giving students an extra incentive to show up! The workshop would cover both lectures about the importance of being fit and a demonstration that attendees would follow along. For example, we could give yoga lessons and talk about the importance of flexibility and physical activity at large. Publicizing this event on social media would be a cost-free yet effective way to reach out to teens. Teenagers are very active on social media, making it a perfect fit for our target audience. Fitness not only improves our physical health but also our mental health and well-being.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life? Three aspects of my identity that shape my outlook on life are my moral compass/values, my interests, and my age. My life is made up of two factors: the things I do and the people I interact with. The three aspects of my identity engage with these two factors. The values dictate the types of activities I do- for example, I am an avid volunteer at several non-profits for several subjects. I choose my friends carefully and make sure that they are good influences. My interests and the things I do are in alignment; I am an extremely hardworking and sincere student so I am ambitious for opportunities that go well with my interests like this Commission. I also think that this would be a spectacular opportunity to network with likeminded young leaders. My age is another factor of my identity that shapes my outlook on life. As a teenager, I am Rev 1/18 AZ
affected by the issues that young people in the Bay Area face and it would be a true privilege to serve as the voice of the teenagers of Fremont.
Create and answer your own question.
Question: What are some previous leadership positions that you have held that make you a qualified candidate? I have held a wide variety of leadership positions at several organizations. Currently, I am the coach of the Weibel Elementary School Debate Team. I manage sessions, outreach, publicity, practice debates, and 12 volunteers for the program. Additionally, I am the class treasurer for the Class of 2025. I have planned and executed several fundraisers such as a Donut Fundraiser for Homecoming and a Water Balloon festival for the school. Furthermore, I was a two-time officer in Horner Middle School’s Debate Team. I successfully ran 2 banquets to end the season, designed club merchandise, and helped the coaches run the program in several ways. Also, I am a member of Councilwoman Teresa Keng’s campaign. As a part of this campaign, I have gone door-to-door to canvass for the Councilwoman. I am also an involved volunteer at several organizations. I have volunteered for nearly 100 hours at several organizations including Fremont Debate Academy, NorCal Robotics, and Unitopia, which is a neurodiversity non-profit. I founded an organization that tutored elementary school students mathematics over the summer, with my friend. We made several hundred dollars in profit. In these positions, I have learned communication, organizational, and logistic management skills that I can apply if appointed. I have often planned several events in all of the positions and I would be more than glad to do the same for the teenagers of Fremont.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: _______8/27/22__________________
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: ________Sean Dorje__________________________________________________________________________ Address:__
Birthdate:_____9/3/2005_____________ Age:___16___ Sex: M / F E-mail address:_____ ___ Telephone:_____ ________ School:____Irvington High School__________________ Grade:__12th_____ Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ____Tibetan/Chinese____________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional) Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: ____English/Mandarin/Tibetan__________________ Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission? Let’s get straight tothepoint: plenty of youthacross thenationfacevarious issues but they areunabletolegallyvotetolegislate change. This hurdle along with complex terminology and processes canoftenhinder youthfromspeakingoutandpushingfor direchangesuchas issues inschool safety, theeducationsystem, etc. As ayouthleader,Ifinditasanobligation to stand up and fight for youth issues. To offer a more in-depth perspective on why I want to serve ontheadvisory commission, I’d like to dive into a bit of my background. From playing soccer with refugee children in anapartment complex to starting my own national non-profit, I’ve always held an intense, altruistic passion anddevotiontowardservingothers because, at theendoftheday,nothingmakesmehappierthanknowingIimpactedsomeone’sdaywhether it be an extra laugh or giggle. As oneof my idols MartinLuther KingJr. oncesaid, "Life's most persistent andurgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " And65years later, this quotestill rings trueinmy lifetoday andeveryday.Workinginover300hoursworthofcommunityserviceeventsandprojectslocally,Idecidedtotakeinitiativeonalarger scaleandinternfor AlamedaCounty Supervisor, DavidHaubert,hopingtoimmersemyselfinmycounty’spublicpolicy, develop awareness and knowledge toward growing issues in my community, and increase civic engagementamong youth. While reading through court documents, policies, and other political articles duringmy internship, I soonrealized that terminology and diction were rather confusing and complicated and this could be ahugeissuehinderingyouth from understanding and engaging in civics. To solve this issue, I co-founded and launched a 501c3 nonprofit,SnapCivics, which started as anonlineplatformfor members of our organizationtopublisharticles onpolitical topics insimplified language for youth to read but we have expanded exponentially. I worked on aproposal for theproject thateventually gainedthesupport of our AlamedaCounty Supervisor andI startedmarketingtheideatoall myconnections.Aimingtospreadthenews of Snapcivics, I reachedouttogreatpartnershipssuchasstateassemblymembersandotherpolitical figures tohost civic engagement eventsforalargeraudienceandrecruitedpassionatehighschoolerstowriteforus. Inashort 5months sinceits founding, SnapCivicshasassembledagrowingteamof27membersacross10differenthighschools, publishedover 35articlestailoredtotheyoungreaderbysimplifyingcomplexcivicstopics,reachedover43states and 10,000 readers, and partnered with national organizations such as APAPA to host public debate forums,podcasts, and research projects. As the current VP of Finance and an executive teammember, I lead SnapCivics inexpansionprojects andpartnerships, manageafinancial accountofover$30,000+throughgrants,andnetworkwithnewmembers andcommunity leaders. Our multifacetedcivic engagement platformfor youthis growingandIamoverseeingmultiplelargedevelopments suchas ourresearchprojectsandpolitical figureinterviews/collaborations.I’vecompletedalllegal paperwork for filing 501c3, constructed partnership and grant proposals, published interviews with multiple localofficials such as state assembly member Kansen Chu, created an expenditures systemfor our organization, manageallocation towards different projects (Research, SEO, etc.), manage leadership and revised chain of command andorganization work flow as new board chair/President. I amcurrently spearheading a new project in civic engagementusing Blockchain technology to develop a decentralized voting app to be implemented in local elections todeter voterfraudandeaseaccessofvoting.All inall,Iholdanextremepassionforservingothersandmorespecifically,engagingthenext generation in public affairs, which is why I believe I’d be a great candidatetoserveontheadvisory boardwithaplethora of experience in networking, outreaching, and working with adults and political figures.
What isaproblemFremont teensfaceandproposeanevent toaddressthisproblem. Howwouldyouorganizeand publicize this event? As afinancefanatic andaRegional Director &National StudentAdvisoryBoardmemberatYoungInvestorsSociety,I’vealways beenfascinatedwithhowmoney works andeventhoughneither of my parents work inthefinanceindustry, I’vetakeninitiativetosearchanddigfor informationmyself that has greatly educatedmeandquitefrankly alteredmyfuturecareer decision. This last school year, I discussedwithoneof theonly business teachers inFUSD, Mrs. Reggio, aboutwhy we don't have financial literacy curriculumand she expressed the same worried sentiment. She even personallystated that she was concerned for some of the students in her class as they really struggled withjust abasic budgetassignment. As the Biden administration tries to alleviate student debt, we all knowthat goingoff tocollege, financingloans and managing budget is so crucial to avoiding student debt and a multitude of issues but thesestudents aren’tgettingthat knowledgetoassist them. Financial literacyenablespeopletomanagetheirwealthsuchastaxes,budgeting,saving, credit score,loans,investing,etc.I'mextremelypassionateaboutfinancial literacy,anditworriesmethatplentyofstudents receive no exposure to such an important, practical subject as they enter intocollegewithpotential debt andpersonal finance responsibilities. According to a national survey, Californiaschools havean'F' infinancial literacy, andfinancial literacy is oneof thebiggest factors inclosingthewealthgapbecauseit educates peopletoutilizetheirmoneyandtimebetter togeneratewealth. Giventhis issueof alack ofaccesstovital knowledge,I'veservedasco-presidentofMyFLY, aninternational financial literacyorganizationfocusedonclosingthewealthgapandenablingstudentsacrosstheworldinmanagingtheir wealth. WeWe'vepartneredwithWhartonBridges toWealth(bridges2wealth.org)andrenownedProfessor Keith Weigelt to co-brand a UC-certified and common core standard-aligned curriculum that has proof ofconcept in various schools in Philadelphia and we want to expand it into California, starting from my hometown ofFremont. The event I propose and amcurrently working on is to pitch this curriculumto theschool boardandhaveitimplemented as an elective in all FUSD high schools. I’m already in discussion with the Director of Curriculumand Rev 1/18 AZ
Instruction at FUSD, Mr. Corey Brown, and I hope to bypass going to each school to find a teacher to gain siteadministrator approval. Withalready developedcurriculumfromWhartonfaculty andonour end, thereareaplethoraofadditions tothiscoursesuchasguestlecturersoverzoomfromWhartonandotherindustryexpertsthatarewillingtohelpandwecanproject themonthesmartboardinstalledineveryroom.Toaidthiseffort,Iplantodoaschool widesurveyatmy high school, Irvington, to gauge interest in financial literacy and show proof of interest.
I've always been the person to stand up for what I think is right and I would like to discuss the implementation of afinancial literacy curriculum in our school district. It is vital knowledge, and with my background and organizationalsupport, wecanmakethis possiblefor this generationof students tobemoreeducatedinmanagingpersonal finances.I've partnered with countless Wharton professors and industry professionals todevelopacurriculum, andwithmy vastexperience in the field, I hope to use it to spearhead this initiative.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life? I believe the three most prominent aspects of my identity arebeautifully intertwinedinmy background, thelessons I’vebeentaught, andhowIcarrymyselfasaservantleader.AsthesonofaTibetanrefugee,Iwasgroundedinresilience:tonever giveup, berelentless inmy pursuit, andtofight thegoodfight. As ayoungentrepreneur, resiliencehastakenmefar as my ideas have often been rejected and taken harsh feedback. Even reachingout andnetworkingfor support isextremely hardaspeoplemoreoftenthannotrejectedmeorjustneverrespondedtomycoldemails.However,becauseInever gaveup, myideaisnowblossomingwithmymultipleventuresinSnapcivics,Untoxicated:amobileappcombattingdrunk driving, andQuickvote:adigital revolutionofvotingusingblockchaintechnology.Thisresilienceandbeliefinmyselfto accomplish hard tasks has shaped my outlook on life because I’mready to take on adversity and step out of mycomfort zonetotakerisks. Thesecondaspect of my identity is compassion. As my 1stgradeteacherusedtosay,“younever truly understandsomeoneif youdon’t put yourselfintheirshoes.”Ibelieveintheinterdependenceofsocial beingsas afundamental lawofnaturebecausespreadingagenuinesenseofcareandsincereconcerncanelevatesociety.Thishas shaped my outlook on life because in most projects I work on, I’maimingtoserveothers andbenefit society as awhole whether it be through my nonprofit operations, local beach cleanups, and helping out at food drives. The thirdaspect of my identity is being a leader. The reason why many people don’t choose to be leaders is because of theresponsibility it entails, theextramileonehastotake,thepotential criticisms/challenges,andsoonandsoforth.Itseemsalmost like a burden. However, as the oldest of 4 siblings, I was predisposed take adifferent approachonleadershipbecauseI viewit as anhonortounifypeopletowardsacommoncausetotakeaction.Igoaboutbeingaleaderbytakinggroundlevel actionandservingtheaudiencetomotivatemy members todothesamebecausethelastthingamemberwants is tobedictatedbyanauthoritarianfigure.ThisleadershipidentityhasshapedmyoutlookonlifebecauseIhopetorun for public office one day and serve my community on whatever scale.
Create and answer your own question.
Discuss a leadership challenge you went through.
Servingas theteamcaptainofmyDECAStockMarketGameteam,Ifacedaplethoraofchallenges.Theonethatstandsout most was effective communication during large investment decisions. Executinganinvestment of over $10k inoneorder entails elaborateresearchandheavydiscussion.Inoneinstance,twoteammembersweredebatinghowtouseourremainingfunds; bothsides hadgreat arguments, but thingsquicklygotheated.Irespondedbyaskingteammemberstobreak down the pros and cons of their investment proposal. Subsequently, we reviewedeachtodeviseawell-thoughtdecision. This strategy has proven extremely effective. Fast-forwardthreemonths after thestart of thecompetitionandour arguments: we placed 4th out of 4700 competitors and qualified for the DECA International Career DevelopmentConference.This experience helped me become a better mediator andcollaborator, as well as grasptheimportanceofhearing the perspectives of all team members.
Also feel free to check out my resume attached to this email for further evaluation. Thank you so much! Rev 1/18 AZ
Sean Dorje
Education
Irvington High School – Fremont, CA
SAT: 1540 GPA: 3.91/4.0 (Unweighted) / 4.5/5.0 (Weighted) Awards: Global Stock Pitch California State Champion + Global Qualfiier, 2x AIME Distinction & Qualifier, 2x DECA ICDC Qualifier, International Finalist and Top 5 in DECA SMG, 4x Gold President’s V olunteer Service Award, NCLA Project of the Year Award, 1st place Wharton Leadership in the Business World Case Consulting Competition, Troop 489 Eagle Scout, FBLA National Leadership Conference Qualifier, Taco Bell Ambition Acceleratio Global Quarterfinalist Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship - Top 100 out of 2000+ Global, Marketing II Precision Exam, Banking & Finance Precision Exam
Relevant Coursework: AP Calc BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP US History, AP English Language and Composition, AP Computer Science A, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, Python for ML, AP Chinese, Mini-MBA, Fundamentals of Finance, Entrepreneurial Marketing Experience
Snapcivics Co-founder, President, Former Chief of Finance July 2021 – Present ❖ Co-founded national award-winning 501c3 nonprofit that aims to increase civic engagement among youth; assembled a growing team of 27 members, published 35+ articles reaching over 10,000 readers, partnered with national organizations such as APAPA to host public debate forums, podcasts, and research projects ❖ Extensively focused on expanding SnapCivics platform such as civic research projects, working with the executive team to lead new members, filing legal documents, managing NGO finances $30k in potential grants, and networking with other organizations to partner for civic engagement opportunities ❖ Working on blockchain powered voting application on mobile app, created architecture for blockchain network to revolutionize and digitalize voting to deter voter fraud, gerrymandering, etc.
Link Himalaya Founder and President Nov 2020 – Present
❖ Partner with Director of International Relations at Northwestern Minority University in Tibet to teach native Tibetan students English
❖ Collaborating with Action International to raise $30,000+ funds for shelters housing Tibetan orphans; Online Business selling cultural arts and crafts made by Tibetan refugees in Nepal @ linkhimalaya.org MyFLY Co-President Oct 2021 – Present
● International financial literacy organization reaching out to over 100,000 people in 20+ countries, 540+ members; spearheading development of EdTech products for financial literacy such as interactive curriculum and a step-by-step investing stock market simulator; budgeting, grant proposals, partnership agreements, legal filing for nonprofit in British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. ● Led International Finance and Blockchain Conference with industry professional keynote speakers ● Partnering with Wharton Bridges to Wealth, Bay Area Females for Finance, etc. to develop curriculum and host opportunities to close the wealth gap and gender disparity in the industry.
Extracurricular Activities
FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) 2019 – Present ❖ 2021-22 Director of Finance: Managing $20,000+ account, leading investment seminars for stock market game, presenting competition sessions to and preparing middle school FBLA ❖ Qualified/Represented Irvington FBLA in National Leadership Conference for Organizational Leadership ❖ 1st in Computer Problem Solving at Bay Section Leadership Conference; 3rd in Organizational Leadership at State Leadership Conference; 4th in Public Speaking on Aggressive Business Leadership at Bay Section Wharton Leadership in the Business World
● Team Captain for Consulting Team, 1st Place 2022 Wharton LBW Case Competition● Conducted financial analysis and devised recommendation strategies for Shake Shack encompassing digitalexpansion and points rewards system for app, leveraging of human intellectual capital in an online trainingprogram for frontline workers to maximize customer satisfaction and stakeholder confidence, andgeographic expansion and drive-thru construction projects.● Worked with Philadelphia Shakeshack to conduct HR/Leadership/Operations interviewQuantitative Finance Research with Machine Learning 2021 – Present❖ Published research paper on “Investment Decision Making with Machine Learning”❖ Developed a quantitative portfolio diversification strategy with correlation heat maps, portfoliomaximization, etc. using ML; created an effective trading algorithm with python❖ Developed quantitative momentum trading modelYoung Investors Society● National Student Advisory Board, California Regional Director, Lead in the YIS Liaison Program● Global Qualifiers and Semi Finals 3rd place, California State Champion for 2022 Global Stock PitchCompetition, 1st place, Top 3 West Coast Regional Stock Pitch● Devised and presented investment pitch as equity research analyst for stock ticker: NIO, utilizing financialanalysis such as comparative companies analysis with similar ratios, DCF analysis, geopolitical assessment,and other investment strategiesDECA 2019 – Present❖ Varsity Deca Team - Mentor, Stock Market Game - Finance Team Captain❖ International Finalist, 6th out of 4700, developed unique investment trading strategies,and presenting themat Internationals as a hedge fund firm❖ 2x Internationals Qualifier, Top 10 States, 3rd in Norcal EntrepreneurshipBoy Scouts of America 2016– Present❖ 2020-22 Senior Patrol Leader; 2019-20 Patrol Leader; 2018-19 Troop Quartermaster❖ Eagle Scout 2022, SFBAC National Youth Leadership Training Graduate❖ SVMBC Published and Distinguished Eagle Scout ProjectBerkeley Business Academy for Youth 2021❖ One of 50 high school students selected from around the world to network with like-minded, passionate,and driven peers; learn a variety of business subjects taught by corporate guest speakers and professors:Finance, Game Theory, and Negotiations, Case Studies, etc.❖ Served as Chief Financial Officer and worked with 5 other peers to develop a business plan and pitch toBerkeley Haas faculty for a start-up called EasyThrift, an online thrifting platformCompetitive Math 2019 – Present❖ 2x AIME Qualifier and Distinction (top 5% scorer in the nation)❖ Represented school to Mathcounts Norcal State Competition, scored 2nd highest on team, CAML, ASMAUntoxicated: Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship/MIT Think/Ambition Accelerator 2021 – Present❖ CEO & Co-founder of Untoxicated: Applying the Brakes to Drunk Driving: A novel application of deeplearning, augmented reality, open CV, & BCS❖ Taco Bell Ambition Accelerator: Quarterfinalist and 500 dollar prize winner Blue Ocean: Top 100 out of1200 Competitors Globally❖ Worked with Wharton professor Flavio Serapiao, Director of Upenn Engineering Etkins Lab Sid Deliwala,and current Director of Studios at Wharton Venture lab on product design Skills/InterestsSkills – Public speaking, Leadership, Python, Machine Learning/Data Science,Interests – Finance and Investing, Politics, Entrepreneurship, CS + AI, Wrestling
Rev 1/18 AZ
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: _____May 8, 2022__________________
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: __Aditya Mittal_
Address: __
Birthdate: __March 18, 2005__ Age: __17 years__ Sex: __Male__ E-mail address: _ __
Telephone:__ __ School:__American High School__ Grade:__11__
Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
X Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional)
Gender:
X Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: _____English, Spanish_________________
Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission?
Having been born and brought up in Fremont city, not only am I a proud citizen, but I also love it dearly for all the opportunities it has given me and my family. As I have continued to engage with the city over the years as a citizen, as a student and as a Boy Scout of America, I truly believe that each of us has the power to change a community and together, we can change the world.
I would like to join the Youth Advisory Commission to serve as a liaison between teenagers like myself and the City Council. I would like to work with the City to create a forum to discuss teen issues and assist in the creation of services for teenagers. Making an impact at this level is incredibly gratifyin g and my past experiences in advocating for fe llow students and leadership in the community have prepared me well for this role.
I was selected by the City of Fremont Youth and Family Services (YFS) department to lead the 2022 Youth Wellness Ambassador program. I created the curriculum and implemented a 12-week community service project for students to spread awareness of how technology could help with wellbeing. The project created quite a buzz and we received over 230 applications. Over the course of the pro ject, I guided the selected Ambassadors to research the state of well ness technology and create a community survey that garnered more than 300 responses. We also analyzed a productivity app in a focus group. It was a proud moment for me to wa tch the Ambassadors give th eir final presentations and interact so knowledgably with an industry guest speaker that I was able to invite for the grand finale event.
The City of Fremo nt recognized my efforts to raise awareness of youth wellness and I was awarded an individual proclamation for the same by the City of Fremont Mayor, Lily Mei at the May 3rd City Council meeting.
I am determined to continue my efforts and the Youth Advisory Commission is the perfect opportunity to expand the impact I can bring to the city.
I am also the founder and president of Neuromatter, a you th Neuroscience organization that I started from the ground up.
It is now a thriving forum for students to learn, participate, and grow as aspiring scientists, innovators and technologists.
I look forward to bringing the same passion and entrepreneurial drive to champion key causes for the youth of the city I call home.
What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize and publicize this event?
Based on recent survey that the City of Fremont Youth and F amily Services condu cted, it appears that Fremont high school teens are facing high levels of stress just keeping up with course work, tests, and college requirements . The pressures teens face from school, parents and peers preparing for a competitive college admissions process , can create ongoing patterns of stress.
One way to ease the anxiety for students is to provide exposure to t he myriad opportunities to make an impact in the world and personal life. With renewed emphasis on skills, students will feel empowered t o focus on making a difference rather than the robotic pursuit of an elite college. To this end, I would like to propose a teen conference where teenagers can learn more from local companies and universities, hear from inspiring speakers, take part in work shops to l earn important skills and seek big & small opportunities to engage in the local government, universities, or companies. Another critical element would be talks or booths addressing youth wellness where available resources will be shared.
I would organize the event by tapping into the outreach programs offered by many Silicon Valley companies and universities who are equally motivated to foster a connection with the local youth. I would create leadership opportunities for teens to help organize the logistics of the event in exchange for service hours which is a great way to learn project management skills. I would also look to collaborate with other cities in the Tri-City alley area to expand the reach of the event. By charging a nominal fee for admission, we could cover our costs and offer lunch & refreshments.
I would publicize this event as an exciting teen conference with a carnival feel. I would use social media, City of Fremont and local school communication channels and local newspapers to publicize the event. I would also seek the help from Rev 1/18 AZ
fellow Youth Commissioners to spread the word. I would also invite local spon soring companies to offer prizes or internship opportunities, as that would be a great draw to many of the teens.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life?
Three aspects that shape my outlook on life are Perseverance, Hard Work and Empathy.
I learnt about perseverance on the tennis court. As an avid tennis player, I am no stranger to defeat, but I have learnt to dig deep into my training and stay determined to keep trying. The tennis mindset was helpful when I was raising funds for Abode Services, a low-income shelter service as part of my high school Red Cross club or applying to Apple to launch my mobile application on the App Store. When there was a lull in donation activity, my friends and I reached out to external organizations supporting high school causes and soon enough we got a few hits which really helped us reach our final goal. Similarly, when Apple kept rejecting my application with reasons I could not follow, I kept reaching out via support tickets and forums till I was finally able to address all the concerns.
Value of hard work is something that has been instilled in me and my little brother since childhood. The mindset in our home has been that there are no shortcuts fo r anything worth a chieving. Over t ime I have seen that taking on h ard challenges either makes the success sweeter or he lps me develop myself and so it’s always worth the effort. This has helped me have the confidence to take hard courses or big projects, because I believe that I can get it done. During my last project leading the Youth Wellness Ambassadors over a 12-week curriculum, I worked hard and long before the program even started to ensure the Youth Ambassadors had clear objectives with a lesson plan to approach each item. I knocked on several doors t o secure an industry guest speaker for the e vent and did a lot of homework to craft and organize the community survey as per the rules when dealing with youth. At the end, it was immensely gratifying to see the success of the Youth Ambassadors.
Empathy is an aspect that I have come to value in the last few years, especially as I have taken on more leadership roles.
Debate has been my labor of love since middle school, where I started a debate club to help other rookies like me and where I frequently teach even today. When I w as elected captain of my high school team, I realized that there is so much more to leadership than making good arguments. I learned how to build trust through compassion and advocating for others and this was possible only by being empathetic. Not only is this helping me become a better leader, but it helps me shed light on various issues that my team was facing to ultimately bring about positive changes.
Create and answer your own question.
Question: Describe an instance when you led an initiative to address a problem and what you learnt from it?
Answer: As a long-time Boy Scout volunteer at the local Tri-City Volunteers food bank, it was extremely hard for me to hear how much they were struggling to keep up with the increased demand during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. I immediately wanted to help in whatever way I could. Since I am also part of my school’s Red Cross Club, I decided to multiply our efforts and mobilized the American High School Red Cross Club to start an online fundraiser to support the food bank.
I started a GoFundMe page. Even though I knew nothing about online fundraising, I went to work, raising awareness in neighborhood forums, reaching city-council members and using social-media to generate interest. With the generosity of the community, we were able to reach our initial goal of $3000 in just 3 day! Encouraged by the support, we raised our target to $5000 and I continued my meticulous efforts, giving constant updates and reaching out to people through social- media and online community groups. I learnt about corporate matches and pursued that too. In an incredible response from the community, we raised a total of $6300 and my persistence paid off! It was extremely humbling when the food bank called me a “Hunger Hero” and I got shout-outs from the city Mayor, Boy Scout council and local publications.
Not only did this reaffirm my belief in the power of perseverance, but this experience confirmed my belief in grassroot efforts and the collective impact a community can have.
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: 5/27/2022
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: Prisha Jain
Address:
Birthdate: 07/08/2006 Age: 15 Sex: M / F E-mail address:
Telephone: School: Irvington High School Grade: 10
Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional) Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: Hindi, Spanish, English
Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission? As a member of the Fremont YouthAdvisory Commission, I understandthat I will havemany responsibilities, andI ameager totakethemon. Oneimportant responsibility will betobringawareness toissues that teensarefacing.Asahighschool student, I frequently hear my peers voicingconcerns about important issues they arefacing, andIwanttotakeaproactiveapproachtosolvingtheseproblems.DevelopinginitiativesisanotherimportantstepthatIamexcitedtotakeonas planning events is one of my strengths. The last step is to execute these events, which I believe will bethemostrewarding part of the process.
By attending FYAC meetings, I hope to learn more about how city governments work and how the councils areeachdelegatedtocertainareas andissues withinthecity. Furthermore, I wishtoexpandonmyleadershipskillsthatIalreadyhaveandextendthemtoimprovingthecouncil.Additionally,Iwanttobecomemoreproactiveinmycommunity.AlthoughI volunteer frequently in my community and have started my own initiatives toaddress problems I feel areimportant, Iwouldliketojointhecouncil tomakeacontinuousimpactandorganizeseveral eventstohelpmycommunity.Beingableto help fix the issues I see in my life and community is important to me as it allows me to help right the wrongs in society.
I believe that I will bring unique ideas to the table while also building on previous ideas to implement them moreeffectively. One approach that I think would be helpful with teens would be to identify what problems they feel areimportant. I believe that sending out surveys and informational newsletters on topics such as mental health would bebeneficial. Surveys would allow the council to determine which problems teenagers place the highest priority on, andnewsletters would allow the council to shareinformationwithteenagers andinteract withthem. Most teenagers rely ontechnology nowsoit wouldbeimportant for thecouncil tousethattotheiradvantagebygettingsocial mediaaccountstoadvertise events and directly interact with teenagers. Technology has thepotential toget moreteenagers involvedandinvested in their community by bringingtolight theissues they faceandstrategies thecouncil is tryingtoimplement tosolve them.
Through my work in the FYAC, I hope to bring about many positive changes. The first one is to improve the lives ofteenagers in my city. Not only doI want toaddress theproblems they face, I want themtoget involvedas well andbeproactive about their lives. Through the commission, I hope to empower other teens to take more solution-focusedapproaches to their lives. This will give other teenagers the opportunity to get involvedintheir community anddirectlymake changes. Overall, my main goal is to make adifferenceinmy community. I havelivedinFremont for almost myentire life and have always loved the city. I want to see it continue to grow and want to be a part of the change.
What is a problemFremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize andpublicize this event? One issue I have noticed that teens in Fremont faceis thelack of reliablepublic transport after school. WhileFremontdoes have the AC Transit and BART, both lack certain characteristics that make them particularly useful for teens.
TheACTransit is quiteunpredictableasitisfrequentlylatetostopsandsometimesskipsthemall together.Thismakesitunreliableandnot thefirst choicefor many teens. Furthermore, thescheduleissporadicandthebusesdonotoperateinmany neighborhoods more than twice aday–duringschool pick-upanddrop-off. This makes themuseless for studentswhowant tousethetransit tomeet upwiththeir friends after school. AsforBART,itonlygoestoothercitiesandcannotbeusedby students whowanttogotoadifferentpartinaparticularcity.Withbothoptionsofpublictransportconsidered,it is clear that there is no reliable way for teens to commute across the city to hangout with their friends after school.
Tosolvethis issueI wouldproposeaneventwheretheorganizersoftheACTransitscheduleareinvitedtodiscusstheseissues. It would be an open event where the public would beinvitedtoattendanddonations wouldbeencouraged. Alargereasonwhy thebus systemis not abletowork reliably is alack of funding; however, if thesystembecomes morereliable, it will get more funding as more people would start touseit. Therewouldbeapresentationabout thelack ofreliablepublictransportandtheeffectithasonteens.Thenaproposedschedulewouldbepresentedwhichcouldthenbediscussed with the AC Transit board members. Afterwards, the public would be able to give suggestions and comments.
Inorder togainfundingfortheACTransit,afundraisercouldbeorganizedattheeventsuchasaraffleforaprizeorfoodcould be sold for profit. To publicize this event, I would put flyers inall of theACTransit buses as themainattendeeswould be the ones already usingthebuses. Additionally, I wouldplaceflyers inschools andonsocial media. Sincethegoal of the event is to help teenagers, the main audience that publicizing should be directed towards is teenagers.Furthermore, I would reach out totheFremont BARTstationtoseeif it wouldbepossibletoplaceflyers thereas well.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Lastly, I wouldput theflyers onACTransit newsletters, bulletinboards, andbus stops soit couldreachasmanypeopleas possible.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life? Onepart of my identity that shapesmylifeismyorganizational skills.MydecisionsareimpactedbythistraitasIoftentrytousemysparetimetofinishtasksandhavedetailedgoalsIstrivetoachieve.AnexampleofthisisifIamtakingthebushomefromschool, I try tofinishmy Englishreadingassignment or my mathhomework duringthebus ridesothatIcanmake the most of my time. Being organized allows me to prioritize my goals while still checking off my otherresponsibilities.
Another key factor of my identity is my problem-solvingskills. I tendtoapproachtheworldwithananalytical viewpoint,whichleads toidentifyingproblems inmy lifeandworkingoncreatingsolutionstofixthem.Forexample,inthebeginningof theschool year, Istruggledwithlearninghowtomarchintimewiththerestoftheteammembersinmymarchingband.Tofix this problemI reachedout tomy sectionleader andspent sometimepracticingwithhimsoI couldgetbetterandevenour coachnoticedmy improvement.Focusingonfindingandfixingproblemsinmylifeallowsmetotakeaproactiveapproach on issues that I want to address, which in turn makes me a happier person.
Thelast mainpart of my identityismypassion.Iampassionateaboutmanythingsinmylifewhichallowsmetodedicatemoreof my timeandenergy tothem. OnethingIamverypassionateaboutisvolunteeringthroughmynonprofit,Exphoriandalocal nonprofit, Tri-City BandCorps.Beingabletomakeadifferenceinpeople’slivesisimportanttomeasitallowsmetogrowas apersonandhelpothers at thesametime. My passionextends toother parts of mylifeaswell,suchasmy lovefor mathor my determinationtocontinueimprovinginband. My worldviewis shapedby this character trait as Iam able to focus on the things I love and give my full energy to them.
Create and answer your own question.
How are you involved in your community?
I love volunteering in my community, whether it be through my own nonprofit or a local nonprofit called Tri-City BandCorps. DuetoCOVID,manyelementarybandprogramsinFremontwereshutdown.Thismeantthatelementarystudentswould not get access tobandprograms or training. Tocombat this, Tri-City BandCorps teaches students onlinehowtoplay various band instruments. I teach the euphonium, which is the instrument I play in band. The work I did in myfreshman year with this organization prompted me to apply tobeanofficer inmy sophomoreyear. This allowedmetolearnmoreabout theorganizationandtakeamoreproactiveapproach. For example,Iwasinchargeoftheirpercussionequipment which is worth over $100,000. I took inventory, assessed damages, and conducted repairs on all of theseinstruments. Being able to volunteer as a teacher and officer allows me to give back to the music community I haveparticipated in since elementary school.
Similarly, I volunteeredinthenonprofitorganizationIcreatedcalledExphori.Idevelopedthisorganizationtogivechildrenthe opportunity to get involved in chess and math since many after-school math and chess clubs shut down due toCOVID. I wantedtogiveother childreninFremontanopportunitytoparticipateinchessandmathsinceclassesforthesesubjects typically runatahighprice.Offeringfreeclassesallowedmetoreachouttomanychildreninmycommunityandgive them the chance to learn and excel. In our first year, we were able to reach over 100 children and give themexperience in competitive math and chess. Our students went on to place in national competitions, such as MathKangaroo. Giving these children the chance to excel helped me to learn important skills such as sportsmanship andanalytical thinking.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Rev 1/18 AZ
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted:_________________________
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Address:_ __________________________________________________________________
Birthdate:_________________________ Age:________ Sex: M / F E-mail address: _
Telephone: _________ School:_______________________________________ Grade:__________
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission?
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What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize and publicize this event?
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Rev 1/18 AZ
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life?
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Create and answer your own question.
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Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: March 27, 2022
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: _____Emily Tang________________
Address: _____
Birthdate: ___Sep 17, 2007____ Age: __15__ Sex: M / F E-mail address: ____ _______ Telephone: __ School: ____Valley Christian High School___ Grade: ____9th Grade_______ Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional) Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: ______English and Mandarin________________ Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission? Serving on the Fremont Youth Advisory Commission will be a valuable opportunity for me to find, develop, andpresent the voices of every young individual in the city. Additionally, I can develop my leadership skills by dedicating mytime to helping others and supporting the youth in Fremont. During my two years volunteering at Youth4Good, a non-profitorganization in Fremont, I worked as a teacher and secretary. Through this experience, I learned how to effectively planevents and communicate with peers and officer members. Together we hosted fundraising events with more than 150participants.This experience has inspired me to continue helping people in need and discover ways to connect our communityby improving the little and large aspects from within. One initiative I would like to work on is arranging for therapy dogs tovisit with Fremont students to relieve stress before important exams and finals. Also, we can participate in high-levelplanning, implementation, and fundraising for additional programs to support Fremont’s youth. While working with otheryouth leaders, I am confident we will develop innovative and interesting ways to take programs and activities to the nextlevel. My previous experiences and passion for helping my community makes me an ideal candidate to serve and makevaluable contributions to the Fremont Youth Advisory Commission.
What is a problemFremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem? How would youorganizeandpublicize this event? Just when Fremont teenagers are looking forward to summer and winter, the COVID-19 pandemic has postponedor canceled events and limited many of their favorite activities, including parties, sports, and time spent in person withfriends. To help my community remain connected during this time, I hosted Halloween, Christmas, and art events forstudents to socialize. Last year I hosted two Halloween Pumpkin Events for Fremont students and the low-incomecommunities. I recruited ten volunteers to assist with the event, and we hosted many games, such as a scavenger hunt,bean bag toss, tin can alley, and a ring toss game. We collected donations from families and used the funds to buy extragifts and materials for low-income families. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I saw the smiles on everyone’s faces,and I want to organize similar events while serving on the YAC.Preparing social YAC events during the post-covid period would undoubtedly strengthen our Fremontcommunity's ties. While serving on the YAC, I hope to continue organizing and hosting holiday fundraising events tosupport low-income shelters. To reach this goal, my first action would be to talk to local youth to understand what type ofsocial events they are eager to restart or create in the post-pandemic future. From this information, I can work with myYAC peers to create collages, vision boards, and written plans to organize an event that the Fremont youth will be eagerto participate in. This collaborative process will ensure that the event is well organized and reaches as many youths aspossible. Once the plan is in place, we can select a location, and I can use my graphic design and social media skills tocreate a poster to advertise the event via social media. Ideally, the holiday event, such as my past Fremont project events,can be designed to be hosted in different Fremont locations to reach a larger population. I'm looking forward to utilizingthis process to enhance the community by organizing numerous events by working together with the city council.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life? I began practicing archery at the age of 5 and have dedicated 8 years to this athletic pursuit. Through archery, Ihave learned dedication, persistence, and how to overcome stress. My dedication and persistence helped me achieve aTop 6 international ranking in my age group.However, during the past few years, I have dealt with enormous stress levels from archery resulting in “targetpanic,” where I have trouble shooting out my arrows in tournaments. I have been in this situation for three years, and I feltI had reached my breaking point, but I did not give up. My persistence and dedication paid off this year, as I overcame thepressure by hitting the top places in state and national tournaments.The emotional abilities I've learned via archery have shaped who I am today and prepared me to take on aleadership role through the YAC. My understanding of dedication and determination will help me continue growing as aperson. This trait will allow me to help my community by establishing clear goals and showing commitment to reaching ourgoals through firm decision-making.In the YAC, my desire to persist during the problem-solving process will help motivate and energize my peers aswe strive to achieve innovative community objectives in a collaborative environment. Achieving community goals can bestressful, but archery has helped me create a strong mindset to achieve goals through dedication and devotion; thus, I amprepared to overcome challenges successfully as a YAC member.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Create and answer your own question:
What are your future dreams and how will the YAC Program help contribute to your personal goals? As an ambitious 9th grade student, I hope to attend the University of Pennsylvania and pursue a Finance andAccounting Degree to reach my goal of becoming an investment banker. Throughout high school, I plan to continue takingadvantage of opportunities to prepare for my future.At school, I have participated in speech and debate and joined my school’s DECA program. Speech and debatecontinue helping me improve my research and communication skills, and DECA has improved my knowledge of business,entrepreneurship, marketing, and personal finance. These experiences led to my acceptance into the Wharton Essentialsof Finance Summer Program. At Wharton, I am excited to learn more about personal investing and financial research andshare my new knowledge with peers.I believe these skills and experiences will make me a valuable asset to the YAC. Through developing projects withthe YAC, I can learn to apply my business skills through real-world applications by creating and organizing a financialliteracy workshop for the Fremont youth. Additionally, I look forward to developing my communication skills by presentingprojects and ideas to the city council. At YAC, I will be able to prepare for my future profession by continuing to build theseabilities while also sharing my skills with my peers and members of the youth community to empower the Fremont youth.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Rev 1/18 AZ
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: _________________________
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: Sairisheeth Venkat
Address:
Birthdate: 03/23/2006 Age: 16 Sex: M E-mail address:
Telephone: School:_Mission San Jose High School Grade: 10
Demographic Information:
Ethnicity: Indian
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional)
Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: _____English_____
Rev 1/18 AZ
1. Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission?
I believe that the Youth Advisory Commission will be a remarkable opportunity for me to give back to my community. High school is a stressful time for all teens. There is an overload of work and the environment can get really competitive.
Students are also not always accepted as there are problems with bullyi ng and cyberbullying often. I want to work towards creating a more positive learning environment and help address the mental health challenges that many students face.
The Youth Advisory Commission’s mandate to support and enhance teen wellness resonates w ith me, and joining this group will allow me to constructively contribute to the community. As part of a volunteering community called Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN), I teach the guita r to a special needs person. Tutoring has taught me patie nce and also the importance of understanding the needs of my tutee. I choose songs that I know he enjoys and through guitar, we have become good friends. The pandemic has also taught me how crucial i t is to reach out to someone when they are struggling. During in-person school in my 8th grade year, a friend of mine would always discuss math questions with me.
However, he struggled a lot during remote learning and I would periodically check in with him . I realized that he was really falling behind in math, a subject he loved. I offered to help him and worked with him to help him get back on track. This experience helped me to understand the value of a community and that we must be there for our peers wh en they need us. I truly believe that inclusion is essent ial to improving the overall educational experience of all students; learning and growing in such an environment will be an enriching experience for all of us. My experiences and lessons learned from them will allow me to contribute to the Youth Advisory Commission in a meaningful way.
2. What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize a nd publicize this event?
One main problem that Fremont teens face is stress from many sources such as school, fa mily issues, and other peers. I propose to have a “stress free” day in order for these individuals to have a break and relax. I would organize this event in a park where it is sunny and green to give off a happy and relaxing mood during the event. Then I w ould get the willing committee members along with some other people that we know to join the event. Once more people show up, we can interact with one another through fu n games and great food. I will publicize this event through different online messaging platforms as teens today are usually finding information online. These include facebook, instagram, and snapchat. This will be great for everyone involved as it allows us to loosen from the stress and make new friends.
3. What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life?
One aspect of my identity is that I believe that people should have some degree of patience. Throughout my life, I have moved to different schools and even countries. Because of that, making friends was always hard for me because I was busy getting used to the new environment. The new parts of the environment always scared me a little as I wasn’t used to it. But through all of these experiences, I adapted patience as I knew that it would take some time fo r the new environment to settle within me. This has helped the moves become easier and helped me understand the environments better. I think this applies to life in general as I believe that changes won’t always be easy but if one develops patience, they w ill better understand how to get past this change.
I also believe that the work you put in life should mostly be for others. When I volunteered at FCSN, I felt a great sense of gratitude when I realized I was giving off something I knew to others. I am a lso part of the peer resource class at my school which aims to promote mental health awareness. One event that we had was the peer benefit show which has different acts and speeches spreading this message. Seeing how they felt made me realize how important it is t o put in hard work for others.
I have been playing classical guitar for about nine years. Over the years I have been introduced to different musical genres and songs. When I learn how to play a song, I also connect with its meaning and the feelin gs involved with it. I found that music helps to bring people together from my performance with other students. My time as a musician has helped me interact with people from unique backgrounds and it showed me the great impact of a group effort for a goal .
Rev 1/18 AZ
Create and answer your own question.
4. How are you a role model on campus or in your community?
I am part of a volunteering community called Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) and have been teaching guitar to a special needs person for a year. I try to make the classes interactive and fun and encourage him to choose songs that he wants to play. I have noticed that he really likes pop songs and Disney songs. Over time, we have become good friends and I enjoy playing with him.
Throughout my life, I have always wanted to help people and have always liked how I can connect with them. It is because of this I am a part of the Red Cross as I am planning to pursue a career in medicine and I want to gain experience in different ways it helps people. Right now, I am training to be a screener for new volunteers and once I am sixteen, I will try applying to the more complex positions.
I am also part of a zero-period class called Peer Resource which aims to provide mental health awareness at MSJ. We do various events pertaining to mental health and also have mentors who can talk to individuals with mental health issues. I am the head of the Peer Mentor committee, which organizes the mentors for the mentees. I hope to spread how impactful the Peer Mentor committee is and let students know that there are hardworking and caring individuals who are willing to help.
Rev 1/18 AZ
Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: April 25, 2022
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: Allyson Wong
Address:
Birthdate: 05/02/2007 Age: 15 in May Sex: F E-mail address:
Telephone: School: BASIS Independent Fremont Grade: 9th (10th grade in the Fall)
Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional)
Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken: English, Mandarin
Rev 1/18 AZ
Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission?
Since I was little, my parents have instilled in my siblings and me the value of living a meaningful and purposeful life. I was lucky to have been given many opportunities, and I thought that I would do my part to help less fortunate kids access similar opportunities in and outside of school.
Life, as I define it, is about constantly learning, applying cumulative knowledge, and contributing to society at scale. It’s about melding passion and compassion. I have actively served in various leadership roles at my school and organized many activities to give back to our Fremont community, with special focus serving underprivileged youth. I am excited about the opportunity to be considered for Fremont Youth Advisory Committee. I feel I am ready to step into this role, utilizing my relevant knowledge and experience in collaborating with the YAC committee members to propose/implement key initiatives to help Fremont teens at a greater scale.
What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem? How would you organize and publicize this event?
Fremont in general is an affluent city and also voted as one of the best cities to live in the country.
However, in recent years, there are increasingly more needy families, especially students that need support in our community in part due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, many teens in well-to-do families have become oblivious and indifferent to such growing social economic disparity and homeless problems within our city. As youth leaders of our next generation, I would love to re-ignite empathy, leadership and connection-making amongst our Fremont teens. I’d like to propose an annual full-day meal-packing marathon event inviting all Fremont high school students to participate and pack 100,000 meals to support those in need in our community. This will be joint event for all Fremont high schools (eg. MSJHS, BASIS, Irvington High, Washington, Kennedy, American High) in which the participating schools will jointly fundraise for the meal supplies. Possible fundraising events could involve hosting a charity concert, organizing an auction event, and/or seeking corporate sponsorships.
This past year, with my Principal’s support, I united like-minded student leaders and founded BASIS Kids Against Hunger Club at my high school. Our club successfully led several schoolwide fundraiser initiatives to reach the $10k funding goal, which included corporate donations from Experian, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, My Green Lunch, and Fremont city council member Teresa Keng. One such event was a meal-packing event which I led last month, in which I planned and coordinated logistics and supply chain activities between Kids Against Hunger Fremont non-profit organization and our school operations team. To prepare for this, I underwent in-depth training on how to lead such a largescale school packing event. I had to corral efforts across my Principal, teachers, and students, resulting in over 28,000 meals packed and shipped to support the Ukraine refugees.
This past month’s event served a dual purpose – (1) to educate fellow students about the global and community needs of underprivileged families, and (2) to harness these students’ compassion to help pack meals. To extend the awareness across the broader Fremont community, I submitted a write-up on this meal-packing event, which was subsequently published on the front page of Tri-City Voice Newspaper https://tricityvoice.com/04-12-22/ (actual article on page 5) and the World Journal News https://www.worldjournal.com/wj/story/121368/6235729, the largest Chinese newspaper in the US and Canada with 350,000 daily circulation. Here is the Video of our school meal packing event https://youtu.be/m8BBvrhBDF0
As for the plan to organize and publicize the proposed combined Fremont high school 100K meal packing event marathon, we would partner with Mission San Jose High School which also has a Kids Against Hunger Club. Together, we would reach out to the other high schools to promote and enlist their help as well. The Fremont-wide event would be promoted via press coverage, social media, FUSD, Fremont city and grassroot efforts.
Rev 1/18 AZ
To elaborate more about the need for Fremont teens to have Empathy, Leadership, and Connection-Making:
Empathy: Fremont city has the third-largest homeless population in Alameda County. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were close to 50 unhoused students attending Fremont elementary schools.
To date, the number has nearly doubled with approx. 100 unhoused elementary students in FUSD. With the ongoing pandemic, there is growing food insecurity in our community. This project will raise the level of awareness and educate our community to be empathetic for those who are less fortunate. To be empathetic towards the less fortunate and naming Fremont as the City of Compassion is simply not enough. Kindness is putting our empathy into action. This is achieved by raising money to fund the meal packing event and uniting Fremont students to show our support and packing meals to support those in need in our community.
Leadership: The Mission San Jose High and BASIS BIF KAH club will collaborate with other high schools to organize fundraising efforts (and possibly coordinate with FUSD and City of Fremont) to host the annual Fremont all-High School meal packing marathon. We will partner with the Kids Against Hunger Fremont (www.kahfremont.org a volunteer-run non-profit organization) to coordinate the packing event logistics and receive trainings needed for each school to support the entire event. In December 2019, during my school school’s very first public packing event in partnership with Kids Against Hunger Fremont, we enabled 350 people from around the city to pack over 33,000 meals. On 4/2/22, BASIS school packed 28,000 meals to support the Ukraine refugees.
Connection: This is a video clip of my grant application to Riley’s Way Foundation Call for Kindness Challenge that showed the video clip of our schools 2019 holiday meal packing event. https://youtu.be/k0ZALU0Qguw At the 1:35 mark, our Fremont Mayor Lily Mei spoke at the meal packing event about the great need to support those who are food insecure. She also encouraged us to continue this cause. I plan to propose to the FUSD and Fremont city officials to make this an annual tradition to unite all the Fremont teens of all races, religions, political beliefs to pack meals with one common goal: to share their kindness with the less fortunate.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life?
My aim is to live a purposeful life; 1) be kind and compassionate, 2) work hard to reach my fullest potential, and 3) do my best to give back to the community and especially support kids in need.
I started learning and competing in chess at the age of 5. At age 8, I represented the US in the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2017, at age 10, I won silver in the Pan-American Youth Championship and was awarded the lifetime international title of Women Candidate Master. My focus in chess has since shifted from competing to enabling more girls to learn and compete in chess through my experience and active involvement in the chess community. Academically, I am most interested in biology-related subjects and wish to pursue biomedical research studies in college and beyond. My dream is to one day contribute to finding a cure for cancer with special focus on childhood cancer and those who are financially disadvantaged.
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Create and answer your own question.
What are your three main strengths that makes you a competitive applicant for this position?
Leadership, Passion and Compassion
I find a great sense of joy and accomplishment whenever I am able to make a difference in another child’s life, motivating me to be involved in increasingly more activities supporting particularly underprivileged kids. Since I was 5, I have been playing competitive chess at national and international open tournaments. At the start of the pandemic, leveraging this background and experience, I founded a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called FEMchess https://www.femchess.org/. FEMchess aims to close the chess gender gap by teaching young girls how to play the game in an empowering and competitive environment. Our core team developed a chess curriculum, and enlisted nationally ranked volunteer coaches to provide free chess lessons to underprivileged girls, encouraging them to partake in competitive chess, an otherwise unaffordable sport typically dominated by affluent boys. To-date, we have successfully enabled more than 50 girls to learn and compete in chess. I have recently partnered with Fremont Unified School District to offer free chess lessons to the McKinney Vento unhoused K-6 girls.
As you can probably guess by now, I love working with kids. Since 7th grade, I have had the honor of leading weekly youth group ministry sessions teaching K-5th graders, with a focus on moral and ethical values. This experience has also helped me internalize and embrace what really matters in character building, and for me, it’s passion and compassion.
I have also been an active volunteer at Kids Against Hunger Fremont www.kahfremont.org, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that educates students to be compassionate towards the less fortunate and pack meals to feed hungry children. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I have personally volunteered over 100 service hours and helped pack over 10,000 meals to support families with food insecurity.
My parents, ever since I can recall, has always encouraged me to do my utmost as long as I believe in the cause. To that end, I personally feel that leadership is inconsequential without passion and compassion. I am lucky that I am able to recognize this powerful combination of traits, which I constantly lean on in making life choices.
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Below are some of the feedback from my school administrators and corporate donators about the recent school meal packing event that I organized and publicized with the press.
On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 9:05 AM Denton, Chelsea <[email protected]> wrote:
Allyson,
Incredible work! This is such wonderful news to receive and I look forward to sharing it amongst the PAMF team. Keep up the amazing community and advocacy work.
Cheering you on,
Chelsea
Chelsea Denton
Sr. Major Gift Officer
CELL: 650-224-6115 |
Sutter Health, Palo Alto Medical Foundation- Mountain View Center
From: Todd Evjenth
Date: Thu, Apr 14, 2022 at 12:57 PM
Subject: RE: BIF Meal Packing Event on Front Page of Tri-City Voice Today To: Allyson Wong <
Cc: Traci Kohler
Hi Allyson,
This is unbelievably awesome! I am so proud of your work with the students and volunteers that made this program a huge success. I have shared this with others and on our Facebook pages. YOU ROCK!!! Let us know how we can continue to support you.
Regards,
Todd Evjenth
My Green Lunch
On Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 5:47 PM Crystal Mangal :
An effective leader has vision, poise and purpose! Allyson, your decision and ability to lead by example resulted in the blessing of many. Thank you for your commitment and servitude. We appreciate you, not for your many accomplishments but (and most importantly), because of who you are! Great job and we are so very BIF proud of you!
Sincerely,
Ms. Mangal
Crystal Mangal | Auxiliary Program Manager
BASIS Independent Fremont
39706 Mission Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94538
fremont.basisindependent.com
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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ashley Leyba
Date: Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 2:06 PM
Subject: Re: BIF Meal Pacing Event on Fong Page of Sri-City Voice Today To: Allyson Wong
Dear Allyson,
How amazing is this! Kudos to you and the KAH team for such a tremendous act of love and care. I'm happy to have played some very small part in it all.
I feel good about our future knowing the next generation of leaders include students like you.
All my best,
Dr. Leyba
Ashley Leyba
K+ Regional Director
Spring Education Group
1999 S Bascom Ave, Suite 400
Campbell, CA 95008
The next page is a letter of recommendation from Dr. Leyba, the former BASIS Independent Fremont Head of School in support of my application to the Riley’s Way Call for Kindness Challenge grant application last year.
TK–Grade 5: 3300 Kearney Street, Fremont, CA 94538 | Grades 6–12: 39706 Mission Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94539 Kearney 510 573 3435 | Mission 510 738 6003 | fremont.basisindependent.com March 18, 2021
Dear Riley’s Way Call for Kindness Award Committee,
I am pleased to provide this letter of support for Allyson Wong. Allyson has been a student at BASIS Independent Fremont (BIF) for the past two years and, in this short time, has already made a noticeable impact on our school. She has served as President of our National Junior Honor Society both years, has spearheaded various community service activities both within and outside of our school, and will now establish a chapter of Kids Against Hunger at BIF. As her adult mentor for this project, I will help provide logistical and moral support as she begins and grows this project at our school.
I have worked in education for some time now, and Allyson is easily the most community-minded student with whom I have worked. She wants to make a difference in the world around her, and actively looks for ways to support our community, whether through packing meals for the food insecure, writing letters to nursing home patients at the height of the pandemic, or arranging a cookware drive for new graduates of our local homeless navigation center.
Allyson is already achieving great things in our community. The support of Riley’s Way will allow her to do more.
Best regards,
Dr. Ashley Leyba
Head of School
Allyson Wong
Personal Statement
My aim is to live a purposeful life, be kind and compassionate, work hard to reach my fullest potential, and do my best to give back to the needy. I started learning and competing in chess at the age of 5. At age 8, I represented the US in the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2017, I won silver in the Pan-American Youth Championship and was awarded the lifetime international title of Women Candidate Master. My focus in chess has since shifted from competing to enabling more underprivileged young girls to learn and compete in chess through my experience and active involvement in the chess community. Academically, I am most interested in biologyrelated subjects and wish to pursue biomedical research studies in college and beyond. My dream is to one day contribute to finding a cure for cancer with special focus on pediatric cancer treatment.
Academic Overview
Grade Point Average: Unweighted 4.0 / Unweighted 4.75
9th grade BASIS Independent Fremont Upper School (current courses) AP Calculus AB
AP Microeconomics &
Macroeconomics
AP US Government and
Politics
Honors Biology
Honors English Language
and Composition
Honors English Literature
and Composition
Intro to Art Studio
Mandarin II
Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP) at UC Berkeley Summer 2021 Advanced Biotechnology Course (grade A+)
PSAT scored 1480 out of 1520 possible score Oct 2021
Leadership and Community Service
At BASIS Independent Fremont Upper School (BIF)
President - Student Panel December 2021 - Present Prepare presentation materials and lead weekly student panel meetings for 20 BIF student leader panel members. Initiate, facilitate, coordinate and implement school activities with BIF Staff and Student panel team leads to create a positive and encouraging learning environment for our school. (eg. spirit days, school dance, hike trips, student suggestions box, USABO exams).
Founder/President - BASIS Kids Against Hunger Club August 2021 – Present Founded BIF Kids Against Hunger Club this year. Successfully led several schoolwide fundraiser initiatives to reach the $10k fundraise goal. Corporate sponsors: Experian, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, My Green Lunch, and Fremont city council member Teresa Keng. On 4/2/22, led BASIS school meal packing event in which our Principal, teachers, and students packed over 28,000 meals to support the Ukraine refuges. Submitted packing event article published on the front page headline of Tri-City Voice Newspaper https://tricityvoice.com/04-12-22/ (article on page 5) and the World Journal News, the larges Chinese newspaper in the US and Canada with 350,000 daily circulation https://www.worldjournal.com/wj/story/121368/6235729 Video: https://youtu.be/m8BBvrhBDF0
Founder/President - USA Biology Olympiad Club August 2021 – Present Founded the BIF USA Biology Olympiad Club to encourage and motivate fellow like-minded students that are interested in learning advanced biology beyond the school curriculum.
Prepare topics and contents to cover. Lead weekly club meetings to review key concepts in the AP Campbell Biology textbook.
President – National Junior Honor Society (7th & 8th grade) Jan 2020 – Dec 2021 Led NJHS bi-weekly meetings with several community service initiatives. In 2021, led fundraising projects and raised $2,500 to purchase cookware for the formerly homeless people transitioning out of the Fremont Home Navigation Center (temporally homeless transition shelter).
Founder/President BIF Chess Club August 2020 - present Founded the BIF Chess Club to encourage more students to stay connected and to promote positive mental health during the pandemic. Facilitate friendly chess matches and help players improve their chess skills by sharing my analyses of their games.
Outside of School
TA – Advanced Biotechnology Course Summer 2022 Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP) at UC Berkeley In Summer 2021, awarded with the grade level exception to take the Advanced Biotechnology Course in and earned an A+ in the course. For Summer 2022, I have been offered the position of TA for this course. Main duties: grading student work, facilitating/monitoring breakout room conversations, assisting with student learning and helping students with lab exercises.
Founder - Femchess.org Aug 2020 - current co-founded FEMchess.org, a student-led 501c3 nonprofit that teaches local and underprivileged young girls to learn and compete in chess in a positively encouraging environment, with the goal to bridge the gender and income gaps in the chess community. Recruited 18 nationally ranked chess coaches. Currently partnering with the Fremont Unified School District to provide free chess lessons to the McKinney Vento Act unhoused K-6 female students. Applied for the United States Chess Federation At-Risk Youth program grant and was awarded US Chess Federation free memberships to support the Fremont unhoused students.
CORE Volunteer - Kids Against Hunger Fremont Non-profit Organization Feb. 2019 -Present www.kahfremont.org 501(3)c non-profit with the mission to educate students about compassion towards the less fortunate and enable students and volunteers to pack meals to support families with food insecurity. Help organize and set-up meal packing events logistics.
During the pandemic packed over 10,000 meals to support the local title-1 student families.
Oct 2021, awarded Presidential Service Award Gold (highest level of award attainable) for contributions made to the local community.
Youth Ministry Leader August 2020 – Present Lead a small group of 4th – 5th graders in the weekly ministry meeting
Work Experience
Certified Chess Tournament Director (paid and volunteer) Feb 2021 - present United States Chess Federation
Direct United State Chess Federation rated chess tournaments with over 1,000 competitors to date. Responsible for tournament pairings, prizes funds determination, moderate players’ disputes or claims, and issue appropriate player penalty during the chess tournament, and submit tournament results to the US Chess Federation to publish players updated chess ratings.
Chess Tournament Live Commentator (volunteer) 2021 Mechanics Institute Chess - oldest chess club in US, 5th oldest in the World.
Conducted twitch livestream commentary game analysis at major chess tournaments.
Chess Tournament Organizer (volunteer) March – May 2021 Mechanic Chess Institute Chess
Conducted research on the top 5 oldest chess clubs in the world. Initiated outreach and successfully collaborated and help run international club matches with Mechanics Institute (US), Edinburg (UK), Zurich (Switzerland), Hamburger (Germany), and Royal Dutch (Netherland) chess clubs. Played in several tournaments and provided twitch live chess commentary of the chess matches.
Awards
Top 20% Scorer Award USA Biology Olympiad open exam Feb 2022 Gold - Presidential Volunteer Service Award 2021 Mensa Junior Honor Society member 2021 – present Grand Honors Award - John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Women Candidate Master - FIDE World Chess Federation 2017 (lifetime title) March 2022: USCF online blitz ranking: Women under 18: #9, Overall Women: #16
Interests
Rock climbing, singing, playing piano, baking, reading, and bargain-hunting for my favorite novels at the Half Price Books. Latest interest: researching the best way to separate fine gold dust from black sand
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Community Services Department
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., B
P.O. Box 5006, Fremont, CA 94538
510.494.4344 | [email protected] | www.fremont.gov
Return Application to: City Clerk’s Office
3300 Capitol Ave., Bldg., A
Fremont, CA 94538
Or to: [email protected]
Date submitted: 3/5/22
Application for Youth Advisory Commission
Name: Florence Zhu
Address:
Birthdate 2/28/2005 Age: 17 Sex: F E-mail address:
Telephone: School: Mission San Jose High School Grade: 11
Demographic Information:
Ethnicity:
□ American Indian or Alaskan Native □ Chinese
□ Black or African American □ White
□ Afghan □ Vietnamese
□ Mexican □ Filipino
□ Indian □ Pakistani
□ Other Asian origin: ________________ (write-in optional) □ Other African origin: _______________ (write-in optional) □ Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin: __________ (write-in optional)
Gender:
□ Male □ Prefer to self-identify
□ Female □ Prefer not to say
Language(s) Spoken:
English (Native Proficiency)
Cantonese (Limited Working Proficiency)
Mandarin (Limited Working Proficiency)
Spanish (Limited Working Proficiency)
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Why do you want to serve on the Youth Advisory Commission? I’m deeply interested in serving on the Youth Advisory Commission in order to broaden my view on local, community-level affairs that affect every one within the city of Fremon t. Moreover, I ’m interested in interacting with those who gover n our city on a personal level. After interning for Mayor Lily Mei over the summer, I’ve developed an interest in learning from those with the most experience in shaping our communit y. Beyond receiving training from staff, I ’m enthusiastic to contribute personal ideas and concerns to the Youth Advisory Commission . As an active debater, I’m conscious of the most up-to-date information regarding international, state, and local affairs. After years of engaging in discourse with other teens regarding the best ways to address the most pressing issues of our time, I ’m eager to integrate my perspective into bettering the city of Fremont.
What is a problem Fremont teens face and propose an event to address this problem. How would you organize and publicize this event?
To a sweeping majority of Fremont teens, news of global events is often reduced to a single five-second image on an Instagram story. As a result, many teens remain ignorant of mass crises occurring around the world, or worse, become misinformed of the situ ation. While many teens are eager to understand these events, it can beco me difficult to find digestible, accurate content that can elucidate news while providing teens with an opportunity to get involved. In an effort to dispel misinformation and bolster an educational form of community-wide engagement, I would organize a continual series of events, occurring on a bimonthly or quarterly basis. These events would address issues like that of the Russia - Ukraine W ar, recent California u pdates on COVID-19, and the Afghanistan Crisis. I would contact those with firsthand experience with the situation – a Ukrainian migrant, a state official, or an Afghan refugee – and extend an i nvitation to speak regarding the issue at hand. I would do my best to ensure that while speakers are educating teens in an engaging, interesting way, and that they are providing ways to become involved, ensuring that Fremont can help to ampli fy global efforts towards solvency . To publicize t hese events, I would work with the other members o f the Yout h Advisory Commission to organize timely social media publicization and email local educators to inform their students of the events.
Most importantly, I’d do my best to ensure that teens can w alk out of events gaining a new level of empathy that they can use as a catalyst to improve the world.
What are three (3) aspects of your identity that shape your outlook on life? Firstly, as a debater, I ’m often engaged in analyzing events that occur on both macroscopic and microscopic levels.
Beyond surf ace-level impact s of new adjustments in policy , I ’m passionate about understanding their structural implications to marginalized – and often overlooked – groups of people . Moreover, I ’ve wit nessed the importance of crafting change. Whether it be speaking out regarding climate policy, handling microaggressions embedded in our minds, or addressing the negative implications of extreme polic y change, I’ve understood that redirecting national attention begins by creating an effect on the local level.
Second, as an Asian female, I’ve developed ways to interject myself in the conversation in an effort to overcome stereotypes of su bmissiveness and igno rance. While I ’ve been petite, Asian, and female my entire life, I only re cently developed a strong desire to be hea rd. As captain of my school’s mock trial and debate team, I ’ve observed the importance of advocating for my ideas despite being perceived as dismissible. Causally, I’ve also learned the importance of ensuring that others feel heard as well – those who are often overlooked at the conversation table are often those w ho can provide the most important insight.
Finally, I ’m a teenager. As both a student and daughter, I ’m passionate about understanding changes that affect m y peers, my fami ly, and myself. Regardless of whether I ’m passively or actively involved in a situation, my experience with others who have been affected by societal inequalities has motivated me to create systemic change. I’m determined to create change within my lif e seeing those around me str uggle from structural barriers such as those of race, gender, or class.
Create and answer your own question:
Explain a specific situation that has influenced you and articulate how it has shaped you.
I first met Sean when I was an instructor for an elem entary school debate program. As a child on the autism spectrum, Sean’s difficulty with processing the way that other kids spoke in rapid and often intense pace s often impaired his ability to learn, making it difficult f or him to obtain a solid grasp withi n the activity . Over the course of the next month, I dedicated myself to ensuring that Sean would receive all of the benefits of debate that I did. Gradually, I had learned to be come more patient, understanding, and receptive to Sean's needs rather than relying on the teaching methodology that I had been accustomed to. As Sean became more engaged with debate, I witnessed him develop a deep, profound interest for the activity – evidenced by the following school year, where Sean went onwards to win local a nd national competitions.
Now, whenever I ’m teaching a course or instruc ting students on a specific s ubject, I always prioritize the needs of Rev 1/18 AZ
students over my own . Above all, I've learned the importance of helping others develop a n indulgent passion for varying activities by allowing them to explore what they love.