Personal Statement

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively

A leadership experience I had was when I had to train a new person at work. I learned how to
be an instructor and to show a person how to do things even if it takes them a long time to
finally understand it. I learned to be patient, organized, couraging, positive, and many more
things. It brought out the commutative side of me more and brought confidence to me as well.
My responsibility was to show them what to do when you get a box of clothing, how to sensor,
how to put clothes away, how to go and put things out onto the floor, and how to do a size
check. I have never led a team before but I would love to if there are future opportunities. I
learned that it is really challenging to get in front of new people or a person and not to feel
nervous, it taught me that people that do this could be very nervous but they push through it and
do a wonderful job. It takes a lot of patience to show someone something that is new to them. I
couldn't go as fast as I would since I know how to do it because I have more experience. I have
resolved some important disputes at work. For example when someone sensors something
wrong I or someone else would have to go to the front to get it off and then proceed to sensor it
the correct way. Another time is if someone doesn't put clothing away correctly, I would have to
tell them and show them which area it was supposed to be in and which section it's also
supposed to be in. I've had more leadership experiences at school and at home, but I would say
this is one of the biggest experiences I've ever had.

2. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Something I have done to make my school and/or community a better place is by taking a class
called Careers In Ed or better yet Careers In Education. In this class you go out to an
elementary school and go into a classroom to help teachers out, this gives you experience of
being a teacher but you really get the feeling of what it would be like to be a teacher in the
future. This sorta helps out both my high school El Capitan and other schools that we(the other
students that are enrolled in the class as well) because we help the teacher out by helping other
students and we help the students out by getting to them and working with them so they won't
have to wait a long time for help from the teacher. Some other ways I have helped my school
and/or community is by participating in fundraisers and other outside activities for the school.
Some fundraisers we would do are going to food places telling them we are here from El
Capitan and it helps and goes towards the schools club that are doing the fundraiser. Some
teachers also give credit to the ones that go and support. I also help out with in school
fundraisers by selling things like stickers, croc charms, etc. Anytime there is an opportunity to
help I'll take it whether it's off campus, on campus, etc. I learned that being involved with these
fundraisers also doesn't just go towards the school but they could go out their way and possibly
give everything earned to charity to help out the community. I like to work with people when I do
things but if I have to work alone it's not that bad either, but I like to communicate with people
and get to know them if I'm working with others.
 3. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have
furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

An academic subject that inspires me is Child Development, it made me realize how much of a
passion I have for children. I first started having an instreset in helping children in first grade
because of my teacher. I struggled to understand and never understood anything going on in
class so she would always pull me to the side or just be there to help me once she got everyone
else going. I had to repeat the first grade, and once I got there I understood everything like I
have done it for years. Taking Child Development and Careers In Education really furthered my
interest in this because Child Development helped me learn a lot more about children and how
everyone grows and learns differently. Careers In Education gives me the hands-on experience
of seeing how these children learn and grow differently as well. If someone needs a babysitter I
will take the job because I get to do something I love to do, which is helping kids of all ages, I
get to watch them grow, help with homework, etc. If there are outside opportunities I take those
as well. Child Development has made me want to be a teacher or work with children in any kind
of way I wouldn't mind. I would love to continue this interest in a UC because I'll get even more
knowledge about children and I get to go deeper into the teaching career. I have gained
knowledge of different ways to help children/students out in the classroom, ways to help them
learn at home because someone is not there to help them. The most important thing I've taken
from the class is how to be patient with kids, they don't all get things one way, so you will have
to show them in the way they will get it, not everyone else.

4. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have
taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic
achievement.

A significant challenge I had to face was when I had more than three family members
pass away in a short amount of time within each other. This was significant to me
because they were close family members, it happened so fast, and it affected me
mentally and physically. I had the mindset of going with them, there's no point in living
anymore, and life doesn't matter. It affected me going to school as well, everytime I did
try to go to school I would just get called right back out because something had
happened. I had lost all the motivation I had, my grades dropped and I fell into
depression. I learned to get back up and continue on with life because that is what they
would have wanted. I had support from my family and friends but I just pushed them
away because I didn't want to be around anyone at all, I always wanted to be by myself,
I lost parts of me the days they passed. I am still working my way through this challenge.
It's still very hard for me to not get back into the old mindset I had. When I get stressed I
feel like I have no one because the person I didt talk to is gone, so that builds on top of
the stress I already have. A way I get through it is by continuing to go to school because
I know that is what they would want me to do so it inspires me to get to class, get the
work done and graduate so I could be successful in college and in life. This has made
my family and I very close to each other because we like to spend more time together,
you never know how long you have with someone so every second counts.