Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. As an active member of the healthcare industry, my mother was eager to begin a small nursing home of her own which would house a maximum of 5 residents. Unfortunately, with the recent turbulence of the economy, her hopeful plan fell to pieces. After having bought the house in which she hoped to bring her idea to fruition, the house’s sprinkler system broke, causing her to have to pay in excess of 30 thousand dollars in repairs. Left with only two residents—hardly enough to cover the business’s basic expenses—we are left paying two mortgages, as well as paying the employees out of pocket, This is no easy task, as my mom lost one of her jobs.
There is hardly enough money coming through for us to pay for our own expenses. We are, in all senses of the phrase, living paycheck to paycheck. It can be difficult for me to focus on my homework because our wifi, water, and electricity often get cut off because we can not afford to pay the bills on time the end of sophomore year was especially difficult because my mother and stepfather decided that they were going to file for divorce. This never happened because, ironically enough, neither one of them can afford to be financially independent. Ever since then, however, it has been a tumultuous cycle of fights, moving in, moving- out, months without contact, and so on and so forth.
Despite these setbacks, I have maintained a commitment to excellence both inside and outside of the classroom. ln addition to the activities listed on the application, I am also involved in a variety of seasonal extracurricular activities I am currently in my school‘s production of A Few Good Men. Rehearsals usually last from 3 to 5 pm, but for the two weeks immediately preceding the production, we have rehearsal until 8 pm. I have lettered in academics for the past three years. The Compliments Page I founded (www.lacebook.com/LakewoodHSCompliments) was featured on all of our local news stations. At its peak, the page‘s posts reached over 30,000 people worldwide.
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I will never forget the day when I received a message from a student in Osaka, Japan who had heard about the page from one of her English teachers, and who was interested in starting a similar page for her school. Moreover, all of the programs I have been fortunate enough to be accepted into have been paid for in full through scholarship, I went to Paraguay through a government-funded exchange program, Through the program, I got the chance to meet the Paraguayan Ambassador and sit in on the US. House of Representatives. The Summer Academy I attended at the University of Southern California with Youth Leadership America was also free of cost.
Attending the Academy sparked within me an interest for civic engagement as a result, I am currently in the process of starting a Denver chapter of the California-based non-profit Our mission is to inspire America’s young leaders through collaboration among local businesses, progressive and driven students, and the community. Through YLA I have done everything from meeting the CEO of Disney International to touring Google headquarters in California. I have refused to allow myself to be limited by my financial situation, I will admit that it has been extremely difficult to remain motivated in the face of such constant adversity, but in the words of Maya Angelou “still I rise.”
