Why I Want To Volunteer In High School

Since my freshman year of high school at Jordan, I have been in the Aspirations in Medical Services, AIMS, Academy. This program allows students to explore health related careers and really emphasizes the importance of going to college and volunteer work. Throughout high school, I have completed many volunteer hours in the Empact Long Beach and Bike Uptown programs and also at the Long Beach Veteran Affairs Hospital. I also played on the school water polo team and swim team. My family would greatly benefit from this scholarship if I were to receive the Community Leaders Award.

The AIMS Academy has given me the opportunity to volunteer in my community and explore potential career options all while helping me be successful in high school. Every year my classmates and I complete a project that has the goal of informing and helping our community. In my freshman year, I went to Grant Elementary School and

I was able to complete 107 volunteer hours there and learned a lot about the city. As a group, we would go on daily bike rides and participate in focus groups with the Long Beach Health Department on projects such as the Bike Master Plan, Open Space Master Plan, Park Needs Assessment, Walk Master Plan, and Green Zones initiative. Being in this program as a bike safety and awareness advocate gave me a voice that I was able to use to benefit my community in North Long Beach. We gave feedback and ideas as to how the city could help improve for bikes and were able to get a protected bike lane in North Long Beach on Artesia Boulevard between Atlantic Avenue and Orange Avenue. I also volunteered at the Long Beach Veteran Affairs Hospital’s Radiology Department, where I completed 102 volunteer hours in my senior year. I enjoy helping others and spreading positivity, even where it might seem impossible to find, and believe that simple things like a smile will help improve my