Hampton High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
Ever since I was little, I was always helping around the house and in the classroom. My passion for volunteering is innate. At every stage of life, I did what I could for those around me. As a young girl scout, I assisted even younger children in underprivileged areas of Pittsburgh with their homework. When I reached middle school, the feeling of being a teenager consumed me. This coincided with the realization that I was old enough to start helping in bigger ways. I would volunteer at my church during Vacation Bible School for weeks in the summer and led my own group of elementary schoolers. Once I started high school, I joined the Rotary Interact Club. The sole focus of this organization is to lend our hands. But this group is not just restricted to helping our immediate community, we also have donated to other parts of the world. I have participated in food drives, blood drives, selling candy grams for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society during Valentine’s Day, and our current project, a shoe drive for children in Nicaragua. My most daunting act of volunteerism was creating my own campaign to raise money for blood cancer. I was so determined to reach the next level of fundraising that I did not take the time to realize the effect of my efforts. Volunteering helps me to feel like what I do matters. I study for classes and receive an A on exams, but the only person that benefits from that 100%, is me. I get straight A’s in all my classes but someone still has a higher GPA than I do, even if its 2 tenths of a point. No one can take away from my accomplishments whenever I volunteer. I am not one to give myself a pat on the back, I am continuously bettering myself and trying to do more for those around me. However, the gratitude I receive motivates me to push more boundaries and go farther in my efforts. Despite the fact that I was helping out someone else, that person was also helping me to become a better version of myself. As an aspiring pediatric oncologist, my love for volunteering will play a large role in my future occupation. I dream of traveling to impoverished countries to help kids who do not have access to healthcare heal and live a healthy lifestyle when that may seem impossible to them. I dream of changing and improving lives for the patient and their families. I fear death and maybe that is the driving force behind my future endeavours, but no matter where I travel or what I become, I know that I will be content as long as I am helping others.