Personal Narrative: Why I Am The Next Community Assistant

Starting high school can be a little scary, especially when you have no guidance from siblings, like me, being the first one from my family to have an education. But that did not stop me from succeeding, I?ve always been confident and determined. I?m an enthusiastic when it comes to trying new things. Who would have thought I was going to be a good athlete plus a book geek, when in my past years I was just a regular kid. I was pretty excited about joining a club that had a connection with high school, that way I didn?t have to start from zero, I always want to be a step ahead. Fortunately, in summer, a high school coach was recruiting freshmen for running either cross country or track, they both involve running, so I considered it like the same sport with different timing. And this is when it all started. Running

Week one has passed by quickly! I think this week was very successful and I can say that I have learned many new things. This week has been an experience for me learning things about the business world. I am not a business major so I was not expecting to take these classes. I was assigned them, but have found them very beneficial. As I read through the first couple of chapters I read things I had heard before. This was a good thing that I could put the information with the terms I had heard previously.

“Oh, my goodness,” “Wasn’t it so funny when Mr. Speranza split his pants in class today?”

Walking into the coffee shop where everyone else , including me now, confronts people in their lives and continues to discuss important topics. The decorations around me are plain and simplistic, nothing special about this place whatsoever. I wait patiently for my invite to show, mentally preparing myself for the conversation that I want to have so desperately. I think of the topics I want to bring up and the ones I want to focus on more than others. Nervously, I continue to wait and talk myself out of thinking that they wouldn’t show at all. A few minutes filled with deep breaths later, finally they’re here. I walk over to the table we agreed to meet at, and sat politely before greeting them and waiting for a response. I cleared my throat and looked at my lap, trying to refrain from saying anything I’d regret. Taking a deep breath, I tried to remain professional while addressing the topic. Finally, my attention was brought to the person seated in front of me, to the world in front of me. With all the courage I could muster I stared dead into its

So, I made a wrong turn today - literally. My brother called to cancel plans while I was driving, and I ended up somewhere in the DEEP south. (cue banjos) But I am wholly confident that God uses every of my wrong turns for his good.

I have been in the Marine Corps for roughly three and a half years and throughout that time I have done many things. Most of the things that I have done were with Combat Logistics Battalion 26. For three years, I worked with that unit through work ups and a deployment and I have seen and done many unique things. However, nothing I did with CLB 26 felt fulfilling, but that all changed when I changed units to CLB 8.

I have always taken great pride in my ability to bring myself out of poverty and to become a well-rounded person. I have suffered through many obstacles along the way, and with great determination, I have been able to overcome them. I know that I have been fortunate and I never take that for granted. Friends and family are a great support system and I am blessed to have the best of both. I work very hard to instill strong beliefs into my children and their friends. It is very important to me that I give back to the community. Understanding social culture and economic provides and even greater sense of wanting to help those that need it. I volunteer through my work with Habitat for Humanity and the Houston Food Bank. My daughter also volunteers

When I was 5, my hands grew old and weary, tired of construction and calloused from work. Day after day after day, I would fashion new worlds and cultures out of little LEGO blocks. I worked fastidiously- creating tiny planes, guarded forts, and expansive cities that swept from one end of the carpet to the other. (I loved to make castles with booby-trapped moats and false walls and hidden entrances.)

I am a PhD student at the Dalla Lana School for Public Health at the University of Toronto. I work as a research coordinator under the supervision of your former colleague Dr. Julia Woodhall-Melnik. Dr. Woodhall-Melnik has recommended the Communications and Dissemination Research Assistant position on "The Community Ideas Factory Project" to me as she knows I am interested in continuing my work in this area. I have two years of experience in knowledge creation and dissemination from institutions such as St. Michael’s Hospital, and I can use the skills I have built to help you on this project.

Have you ever been so desperate for something that you modify your motive in its entirety? Throughout my life I’ve found myself placed in this frightening situation multiple times; the most confusing of which would be what I’ve endured this year. People in their 20s have it rough. We’re old enough to feel like we’re supposed to know what we’re doing, yet young enough to roll in the tide aimlessly and clueless and it still be acceptable. Then there’s those of us who believe we’ve got it all figured out only to be proven tremendously wrong. I have learned, however, that being tremendously wrong can lead you right where you need to be.

My community involvement started my Freshman year of High School when I began helping with the Miller Keystone blood drive. I was too young to donate but I did my part by helping sign others up. During my sophomore year it became more of a club and they trained us more so we could be a bigger help. I worked at the canteen, this continued up to this year. I have donated twice so far and plan to donate once more in May.

Community has a very strong positive connotation attached to it. A community bonds together when one falls. The true reliance an individual has with their own community runs deeper than any explanation can explain. It is because so many people often forget this connection, that I have taken the most drastic measures to immerse myself with my whole faction. The easiest yet most beneficial involvement that I have had with my community is through tutoring. Teaching a child, or even an adult, makes each individual in the population a stronger contributor to society. As one who struggles with family finances, I cannot put a price on knowledge.The payment of my tutoring is in the brightening faces of those individuals that see the connection.

The assistant has an uneasy look on her face as she walks to my desk. She quietly asks me to follow her, I immediately react by breaking into a sweat. I struggle to ease my swirling thoughts in my head screaming at me, tearing apart at every little task I did wrong. I walk into the office and to my surprise, I am surrounded by flushed officials in black suits, their foreheads gleaming with sweat, irritation at me obvious in their demeanor. I sit down at a desk, I flinch when the chair loudly scrapes against the hardwood floor. They all glare at me asking all different questions that I do not know the answer to, asking me to do tasks I am not qualified to do; my face heats up with nervousness and embarrassment and I stammer trying to find an

There are many things that I can help improve the community or school. For an example I have made the community a better place by having an externship at Loma Linda University by representing my community and school at the same time. This program has made me become someone better because it gives me the chance to talk to people all around the world who comes and visit us to see what are we capable of. Biotech Requires hands on stuff and what makes it great is that we as a community come together to improve and make things more better. Another thing I did to help my community was that I collected unwanted can food from my family and my next door neighbors. When it came to the point that I had enough of food I went to the nearest park with my

visionary forethought, strategic planning, creative leadership, and a strong commitment by all stakeholders. A successful community resource plan includes: