I am a youth representative for the Women and Children’s Alliance of Boise. This is a nonprofit that provides services for anyone who has been the victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse/assault. My junior year I volunteered both here and on the Mayor’s Council for Children and Yout, and I did see some overlapping issues where the system could be better in providing services for our community.
Literature and biology are both very important to me. I am currently publishing a fantasy book, “Arden,” which I started writing two years ago. Now I’m also working on a new project, a contemporary story about a female bio-technology entrepreneur; this story is inspired partly by my experience at YYGS and I look forward to publishing it before I graduate from high school. Feminism has been a big part of my life as well.
I had a splendid time at YYGS this summer. I learned about collective history, dialogue in democracy, neon-liberalism, and a myriad of subjects that intrigued me academically. I also met like-minded peers from all over the world. I learned just as much from them—their culture, believes, and values. As the photographer of PLE II, I got to see the program not only through my eyes but also through others. The memories I made at YYGS will be forever cherished.
Later this month, I will participate in a program at Monash University called “Commerce Connect” which gives students the opportunity to learn more about business and commerce in university, as well as speak with current university students. I am very excited to take workshops from current professors and listen to alumni. Overall I am sure it will be a very valuable experience.
“YYGS gave me life-long friends from all the continents, and my dearest memories from YYGS involve the time I spent with them.”
I am an Outreach Coordinator for Connecticut’s 2019 PERIOD Movement Rally. In August, one of my friends introduced me to this issue and ask if I would like to be a part of the team. Every month, many women struggle with obtaining menstrual products due to the inequitable taxation placed on these products. Often times, these women also experience homelessness and poverty. With these widespread issues at hand, the PERIOD campaign fights to raise national awareness, support, and legislative change in order to alleviate the struggles that these women face.
Since I departed from YYGS, I started working on a project that me and my older brother shared. In 2018, we made a game in twenty-four hours called “Shamen” for Game Jam Georgia and we won first place. My brother’s major is computer science and he’s in charge of the programming aspect of our two-man team. Accordingly, I’m responsible for the design and artistic aspect of the game.
One month ago, I applied for an internship position at Heritage Frederick. Heritage Frederick is the historical organization within my county. They have their own museum and they also hold the county’s archives which researchers from all over the world use. After coming back from YYGS, I had an interview and I then received the wonderful news that I had been accepted.
Just prior to arriving at YYGS, I had been elected president of the Student Government Association at my school, and initially, it made me feel fantastic. My fellow students trusted me to make changes in my school, and I was willing to do everything I could to do just that. As the summer passed by, however, the list of demands grew, and the solutions I had constructed for the seemingly easy problems presented before me fell through or seemed like they were going to.
