Oakland Catholic High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
My volunteerism has changed me in tremendous ways. When my Aunt Carla started her organization, Kierra Keeps Caring, I saw the drive she had for making our community a better place. Every year she would feed the elderly for Thanksgiving but also conducted a walk for the lives lost due to gun violence. She wanted to be the change in the community and with helping volunteer at her events but also many others allowed me to see what change I could be.
From this realization, I started to see how my community and many others did not have the necessary tools or opportunities for young kids my age. I wanted to be the change but did not really know how to since I was only seven years old. Finally my junior year of high school, I met many friends who also felt the need to become the change within their community but also wanted to create opportunities for young teens and adults. Four friends and myself from Oakland and Central Catholic decided to make an organization so that other teens in the Pittsburgh area can see how they can become successful in their own communities. Over the course of several months, we had our very first Black Business Social to showcase successful businesses within the minority community. Different business owners talked about their obstacles and successes throughout the years and emphasized how important it is for teens to have such great opportunities. After having such a great turnout we decided to come up with ideas which will catch the eyes of young creative minds. We decided to have open mic nights to showcase the many talents in the Pittsburgh community. Seeing how everyone supported those who created their own music but also art pieces showed me how significant it is to have a community that supports our young people. Having these kinds of events helped open my mind to new horizons and allowed me to meet people of different backgrounds. To see what we need within our communities which would show the positive side of being who you are and seeing those that you know making it in different parts of our world.