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Teaching was always a passion of mine. Luckily, I was given an opportunity to teach 1st and 2nd graders math at Megastudy Academy. It was a unique chance to get to know these talented kids while also teaching them the fundamentals of math including addition and subtraction. I had a lot of fun working with these kids and “reliving” a life as an elementary school kid. 

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Volunteering at the Westview Multicultural Program allowed me to experience and connect with disabled children and adults from many different backgrounds. This program helped me realize the importance of taking care of this group of people and how similar they are to regular human beings. It was a great opportunity to break through any prejudices that I had and to create a new self who is now even more loving and caring towards individuals with disabilities and illnesses. 

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My high school career has been filled with countless surprises and achievements. Taekwondo has been my sport of interest for the past couple years. As a result, I’ve been able to earn several trophies and medals at competitions as well as awards for progressing up the belts. My summers have been taken up by rewarding programs such as  STEM Summer Camp at Fullerton College and a Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation Program at Cal State Fullerton. I’ve also received many awards for competitions I’ve entered for Math, English, Science, etc. For the past 6 years, I’ve been devoted to Speech and Debate, going to competitions held at many different colleges, one even as far as UC Berkeley. I’ve earned several ribbons at various OCSL League Tournaments for winning records as well as a few trophies for placing at other competitions. My musical interests were taken up by piano which I’ve also been actively pursuing for 6 years. I earned several certificates for passing CM tests, eventually earning one for the final CM level 10. 

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This Gala Show was especially nerve-wracking because it was my first attempt at MCing at a formal event. I was one of the four hosts of the lottery whose job was to liven up the crowd and get them to buy tickets for great prizes. Apart for my job as an MC, I also performed a piano piece called Sonata in C minor 2nd Mov. (Pathetique) by Beethoven and demonstrated my musical abilities to amazing individuals like Young Kim. 

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Playing piano for 6-7 years also means that I’ve participated in around 6 annual piano recitals. It was a rewarding experience to be able to pursue my musical interests with the same group of people for such a long period of time. I ended my piano career with the classic Sonata in C minor by the one and only Beethoven. 

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Although the course was relatively short, I quickly grew to love not only the field of engineering but also the students who I were able to work with. There were so many intelligent students each with their own talents as well as an amazing faculty to learn from. This picture is of our final spaghetti bridge project where we had to build a bridge that could withstand large amounts of weight placed at the center. 

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A couple of friends and I traveled to the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians where we helped set up an outdoor party for the tribe. We set up the chairs, tables, canopies, screen for the movie that we were planning on watching at night. It was a crazy experience meeting Native Americans for the first time and getting to understand their unique culture and history. We had a wonderful time with the outdoor barbeque and movie that we were able to watch under the starry night sky. 

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I got an opportunity to go work at a little “market” with all sorts of donated food ranging from pineapples to eggs to chocolate cake. We set up the tables and organized the different foods to make them look more appealing to the Native Americans who regularly came here for supplies. It was extremely fun participating in this local market and getting to hang out with the young children who also visited the market. 

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I am so fortunate to have been a part of the Republican Dinner Party with so many prominent politicians and authorities. Not only was this event new to me, but it was also comforting to know that there are so many people out there who are passionate in helping the country succeed and succeed. It inspired me to also actively voice my opinions as a citizen of this great country and be up-to-date on both national news as well as international events. 

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Following up with my experience at the Westview Multicultural Program, I decided that it would be a great idea to go with them to the beach. Not only was this group even bigger than before, but it was also filled with a much larger variety of people who were bright, loving, and hilarious. I had so much fun with them playing volleyball, hosting a cracker eating game, and eating lunch with them. Their active and innocent personalities inspired me to care and love anyone and everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, or ethnicity.