Mexico Spring Break

Being involved in clubs throughout high school has taught me how to work with people coming from different backgrounds. One of my main goals in life is to create an organization for poor communities in order to teach them how to eat right with their own resources and motivate people

Born in Haiti, I came to The United States at the age of six. Barely speaking English, I overcame a new environment and a language barrier, therefore, years later graduated as a top ten student in High School. Adapting to a new country was challenging , especially, coming from a place that does not have everyday essentials such as electricity, food, and water. Living in the United States made me realize how fortunate and bless I am to have everyday essentials when numerous people spend their day not having them.

I believe in good karma. Some may say that it's just a coincidence that one gets a sort of reward after doing something good for others, but I am sure it's good karma paying us back for our actions. I wasn’t aware of the importance of doing good for others,

I am honored to be one of the recipients of the Lawrence J. Sonneman and Laurelle A. Sonneman Endowed Memorial Scholarship. Thanks to your generous support I am the first in my family to attend college. Growing up with six younger siblings has shown me great money challenges, but I always

Statement of Financial Need As the child of a single parent, the La Junta Rotary Club Foundation Scholarship would be of great assistance in supporting my goal of obtaining a degree in Agriculture Education. My mom has been very supportive of my education, but I know she does not have the

Seeing a kid who will hold a gun before they hold their first book. Seeing a teenager my age injecting himself with heroin instead of injecting himself with knowledge. Seeing an elderly person who, when looking back at their life, will remember nothing but memories of misery. These things can't be read in a book or seen on a television. The truth is, you will never understand what people are truly going through until the day you look at them in the eyes. With members of my team, I worked tirelessly to build a home for a man named Serafin who no longer had a roof to live under in the slum. It was both the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and the most rewarding. Serafin now had a home where he and his family could live in, and I had a new set of eyes to look at the world through. Later that day, I experienced what life was on the other side of the spectrum. Ironically enough, hours after being in Ciudad Bolivar, I found myself at a family wedding in one of Colombia's most luxurious country clubs. Most people were wearing articles of clothing and accessories that individually were worth more than everything a person in Ciudad Bolivar would own in their

It was my first time in the Dominican Republic, away from my parents and traveling alone. It was also my first mission trip and I loved every minute of it. As I sat and looked around the village of slums and shacks, I saw that the people were so giving and friendly. They had next to nothing, and yet they were still volunteering to give more.

We were at the border between Mexico and America. I had never been here before and I was anxious. There were so many police walking around. We were going to the place where my dad lived when he was younger. This has shaped me into the person I am today

On one sunny day, I was helping my mom doing chores when she pulled me over to talk to me about something important. I was confused why my mom would want to me about something important, but I listened to what she said and followed her. What she told me was what her life was like back in Vietnam. She did not have much of an education. Instead, she stayed home with her mom to sell Vietnamese yogurt every day for a living. Since I was born in America, I never thought of life was like for others in developing countries like Vietnam. Hearing from my mom's experience, it stuck with me. I learned the importance of being grateful for what I have since they are a lot of people who do not have what we have in America and it made me want to help those who are in need. I was also inspired to do whatever I

After landing in Mexico and meeting up with the people I would be working with during a three-day mission trip, we were crammed into a bus and spent the next two hours getting to know each other. We were there to build homes for a multitude of families in the town of Xochimilco, Mexico. When we arrived late in the afternoon, we were led to an empty school where we would spend our nights. Sleeping on the floor next to school lockers with bugs buzzing in my ears in a country I did not know well was an interesting experience to say the least—but that was just the beginning. At dawn, the real work began and so did a change in my thinking that had a dramatic effect on my perspectives about life.

Volunteering at a community health center in my hometown, Santiago de la Frontera in El Salvador changed my perspective on choices. Growing up, I thought that people chose to not brush their teeth. At the age of seven, I immigrated to the USA and didn't have a chance to understand that concept in El Salvador. I went back last summer and assisted an orthodontist. This opened my eyes to realize that some families have to choose between a tooth paste and food. In life, we are not given the same advantages and therefor, we can not make the same choices.

I am a firm believer that one of the most precious gifts given to humans is the gift of empathy. Empathy for those one may not know even the slightest is unusual yet indispensable for our moral survival. This gift can be shown in in numerous ways, however the

In my lifetime, many experiences have changed my character, with the most memorable being the mission trip I took to Parmelee, South Dakota. This endeavor showed me how to be caring and love everyone, despite their circumstances. Although it took time, I learned to show kindness to everyone and not just the people I feel comfortable around. During my missions work, one child revealed to me how to be compassionate to people who may not deserve it, and to give to other unconditionally.

One act of service that really changed my outlook on life was making blankets for Project Harmony. Project Harmony is on organization located in Omaha that tries to protect and support children who have been abused. They are equipped with a large range of staff from medical to forensics in pursue of help every child no longer be a victim and seek the help that they need. Every year around late fall, early winter my summer softball club team and I spend two weekends making as many fleece blankets as we can for those at Project Harmony. I say it really changed my outlook on life I remember thinking before we even started making the blankets how long it was going to take and that I had better things that I could have been doing. So already off the bat I went into a situation with a negative mindset.

I traveled to Nicaragua the summer before my senior year of high school, and it changed my perspective on many things in life. It was crazy that I went to serve them, but I had no idea what to expect when I got there. The people I met were the most grateful people I had ever met and despite the little they had, they managed to be some of the genuine people I met as well. I knew that one day I would use my medical experience to give back to this community, and it is an honor to know I can use this summer to make that happen.