Choosing To Serve Others

By Nooshin Navidi

Many of my accomplishments so far in high school would not exist without factoring in my experiences from the community service I participate in. Engaging in services to others has taught me to be a leadera role I plan on having throughout college and my career. By choosing to take action and serve others, I have also become better equipped to interact with the variety of people life presents.
As Co-Chairman of the Youth Advisory Committee (community service group advocating drug-free youth/healthy lifestyles in South Bay cities and inner city Los Angeles), I devote much time to it because I believe that many young people, especially high school and middle school students, succumb to peer pressure abusing alcohol and drugs because they do not realize they have an alternative. I myself to youth groups about why I have chosen a sober and drug-free lifestyle. Even if only a few people in the audience apply what I m saying to their own lives, it all becomes worth it to me. When students and my own peers approach me afterwards either to thank me or vent their feelings about all the pressure they face, I learn to become a better listener, knowing that many of them have remained confused and silent until now. I believe that my commitment in promoting drug-free youth qualifies me for the honor of the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Program.

Nooshin Navidi is a stuent at Stanford University.

Power to Influence
and Change


By Sarah Hur

Teaching a class of eleven Kindergartners was one of the toughest personal challenges of my life. Not only was I bombarded with shocking profundities from four-year-olds, but also I had to balance my time effectively for these dedication hours. Although at first, I merely saw this position as a "baby-sitting" job, I soon discovered that through my opportunity as a Kindergarten staff, I had a great chance to change the students lives. By taking serious precautions to the sensitivity of the children, I learned to predict possible inquiries from the students by researching the subjects prior to my teaching, I also learned to organize my thoughts before speaking before a crowd answering all possible questions that I might be asked and objections before I got to the classroom. Through this experience, I develped a habit of being regularly prepared and extensively researching the curriculums.
In relation to my teaching, I have also participated in Mexico Mission to facilitate a food bank and to teach. During my stay, I translated Spanish to English for the volunteering doctors, and effectively communicated with the Hispanic villagers about my belief. My involvement in foreign places in addition to the community services has broadened my cultural spectrum. I faced countless opportunities to practice three languages for the betterment of the community: Korean, English, and Spanish.
Three years of community involvement in Orange Korean Church has shaped me as a better tool for the society. I now realize that people, however under-represented or miniscule in number, have the power to influence the community, and to change themselves with the will and the action necessary to change.

To Better the World


By Mi-Sun Hwang

The human life is like waves of water; every move that an individual makes creates a ripple that spreads out and affects the others. My presence has bettered the community around me, and through my service and leadership, I have encouraged and strengthened everyone around me.
Moving from Korea to California for the first time was not an easy thing. At first a shy girl who didnt speak any English surprisingly became a leader and served her fellow classmates by being a role model. I joined the JV swim team and Varsity Waterpolo Team where I learned to bond with new friends, the first step in becoming an effective and compassionate leader. I also joined the Marymount Orchestra, being the lead pianist in school. In sophomore year, I challenged myself to become a retreat team leader despite my language obstacle. In junior year, I joined MUN, the Model United Nations, and participated in UCLA conference, where I gave many speeches and made friends with leaders from other schools. Recently, with my partner, I am planning to create an organization which remembers the innocent victims of the World War II, urging people not to commit this violence again in the future. We will be putting out an exhibition in a local museum and will be giving lectures as well about our organization and its motives. At school, I am a member of the National Honor Society and have received a GPA of 4.7 as well as many scholastic awards.
Outside of school, I have received piano scholarships including the 2000 MTACWLA Alice Frazier Kitchen Memorial Scholarship and the Womens Club Scholarship. At the Korean Church of Jesus Christ, I use this musical gift for the kids, playing the piano for them. I m also a Bible school teacher at church, guiding them spiritually. For service. I volunteered at the Childrens Nature Institute for over 70 hours and actually led a nature walk where the disabled kids went.
My goal in life is to sacrifice myself for others just as what Mother Teresa had done. I want to lead people into goodness and somehow better the world with my effort, although it may be small. For all my qualities, I deserve to be nominated for the Asian Pacific Youth Program.


Mi-Sun Hwang is currently a high school senior.


Responsibility




By Lillian Chu

The philosophy that with effort, anything can be achieved, is a concept I have learned through all aspects of school and life. I currently hold the offices of ASB President, Key Club President, Key Club Division 38E Technology Chair and representative to the district board. Previously, I was also Junior Class President, Computer Club President, school STAR Committee member and Class Senator. I’ve also served on a Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Committee, received the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Leadership Award, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and am a National Merit Finalist. I am the valedictorian of the senior class, a past engineering apprentice for NASA, and an incoming student for Stanford University this fall. I have learned that hard work equals success, and I know that as long as I try, anything can be achieved.
As a member and president of Key Club, I work with others to serve our community. We do activities such as working at soup kitchens, sponsoring canned food and clothing drives, reading with children at an elementary school and volunteering at our local senior home. We do campus clean-ups and also focus our efforts with the international Key Club network through District Project Days. Outside of student clubs, I also work with other teenagers and adults through the High Desert Effective Leaders project. In this program we attack specific problems, such as drug abuse, graffiti and teenage crime, and try to find ways to solve them.

Lillian Chu is a freshman at Stanford University.

Potential To Love and Be Loved


By Helen Uyong Kim

In June l997 I began volunteering to supervise atrisk youths in an LAPD PALS (Police Activity League Supporters) Youth Center in Reseda, where local teens spend time after school, when most juvenile crimes occur.
PALS aims to keep kids off streets by putting them in a supervised place. Establishing these youth centers is quite effective; according to a police officer, Reseda s juvenile crime rate has decreased significantly since the day PALS opened its doors four years ago. (I assist teens with homework, suppress fights, and encourage teens to gain self-confidence by teaching them to believe in their abilities.) By working with others my age, I hope to leave an imprint in my community.
For a person who has lived a life fairly sheltered from crime, I faced the initial challenge of effectively communicating with teens who appeared different from me. Someone stole my purse and cracked my car windshield. Ambivalent about continuing to volunteer, I began to think that these teens were hard at heart. But natural curiosity and the desire to finish what I had already started made me persist; I wished to learn more about other minorities like myself and to assist them.
After spending over 600 hours with these youths, I discovered the treasure of warmth and sympathy that lay buried. My invaluable experience confirmed my belief that everyone, regardless of appearances and backgrounds, has the potential to love and be loved. Recently, I received the Leader of the Future Award from the Kyunggi Foundation.

Helen Uyong Kim is a freshman at University of California, Berkeley.