Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group effort over time?
When I think of leadership, I think of someone who is able to set a good example but knows she/he is going to make mistakes along the way. Most people think leaders have to know more or have to be a certain age, but I disagree leaders come in different ages and physical built. In life, we all come from different backgrounds and we all face different obstacles in life. My leadership has grown within the last two year because of “National Youth Leadership Camp” (NYLT). It provided skills to become a better leader. As a leader you have to know when to take a step back and let others try in certain situation. Many leader think they are the one with all the power which gets them caught up with handing out task that need to be done. I got asked by NYLT to come back and to be apart of their staff to teach other youth about becoming a leader. It was a great experience because I learned even more as a staff member at this camp. I had more responsibility I had to deal with campers arguing and it really provided me the true meaning of a leader. At the end of the camp, I got feedback form that campers filled out and I got a lot of praises of being a leader they considered me one of their favorite staff member.
When I think of leadership, I think of someone who is able to set a good example but knows she/he is going to make mistakes along the way. Most people think leaders have to know more or have to be a certain age, but I disagree leaders come in different ages and physical built. In life, we all come from different backgrounds and we all face different obstacles in life. My leadership has grown within the last two year because of “National Youth Leadership Camp” (NYLT). It provided skills to become a better leader. As a leader you have to know when to take a step back and let others try in certain situation. Many leader think they are the one with all the power which gets them caught up with handing out task that need to be done. I got asked by NYLT to come back and to be apart of their staff to teach other youth about becoming a leader. It was a great experience because I learned even more as a staff member at this camp. I had more responsibility I had to deal with campers arguing and it really provided me the true meaning of a leader. At the end of the camp, I got feedback form that campers filled out and I got a lot of praises of being a leader they considered me one of their favorite staff member.
What would say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Being an outspoken person it allows me to have courageous to talk to anyone. I have had many compliments on my skill of trying to sell items for fundraiser. One of my skills is salesman because I'm very good with maintaining money and pulling the customer to start thinking about buying the product i'm trying to sell. For example I recently helped my sister fundraise money for a program at Stanford. I sold customized T-Shirt I would make the design the customer wanted and try to give a reasonable price. On multiple occasions, I would give my customer a deal if they bought one more shirt I would give them 5$ off. I think this is a skill because when i'm trying to sell a product, I try to connect with my customers by being flexible when it came to designs and how many colors and more, because once you have a connection with the customer it’s more likely for you to get your customers to talk about your product and sales rate will increase. One of my many option for a career in life is to go into some business aspect. I have heard many occasions when customer service isn’t as reliable as it should it should be. Customers need to be able to connect with a respectful person who will be able to answer their question in a timely manner. So I would like to improve customer service. I even have thought about being someone that is a person that builds up community relation whether it's for a store or a community. I think many people's input isn’t even being consider when making a big change. I’m not saying everyone is going to be happy with the end result, but I hope that person could atleast get their voice heard and know that there voice got heard. It’s going to be a challenge but i’m up for it.
Being an outspoken person it allows me to have courageous to talk to anyone. I have had many compliments on my skill of trying to sell items for fundraiser. One of my skills is salesman because I'm very good with maintaining money and pulling the customer to start thinking about buying the product i'm trying to sell. For example I recently helped my sister fundraise money for a program at Stanford. I sold customized T-Shirt I would make the design the customer wanted and try to give a reasonable price. On multiple occasions, I would give my customer a deal if they bought one more shirt I would give them 5$ off. I think this is a skill because when i'm trying to sell a product, I try to connect with my customers by being flexible when it came to designs and how many colors and more, because once you have a connection with the customer it’s more likely for you to get your customers to talk about your product and sales rate will increase. One of my many option for a career in life is to go into some business aspect. I have heard many occasions when customer service isn’t as reliable as it should it should be. Customers need to be able to connect with a respectful person who will be able to answer their question in a timely manner. So I would like to improve customer service. I even have thought about being someone that is a person that builds up community relation whether it's for a store or a community. I think many people's input isn’t even being consider when making a big change. I’m not saying everyone is going to be happy with the end result, but I hope that person could atleast get their voice heard and know that there voice got heard. It’s going to be a challenge but i’m up for it.
|
What is one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?
I grew up as a Mexican kid growing up in SouthEast San Diego not knowing where I would be living next month or even what school I would be attending. I went into foster care at age three because my parent were abusing drugs. I would soon return to them after a couple of months of being in a foster care. Four years later, at age seven, I went into foster care again and I would be in foster care for three years because of the court/government kept giving my parents multiple chances to get clean from abusing drugs. After many chances and resources, they didn't get clean and then I got adopted by my aunt, my dad’s sister. Coming from Southeast San Diego where there is a lot of gang violence and not the best social class well it wasn’t enough but attending more than ten elementary school which mean I was really behind. Fast forwarding to now, I attend High Tech High International with all A grades. It shows my dedication to make sure I’m not gonna let the past define my future. I want to be a leader to those who have been in foster care to know that you are bigger than the situation you are facing you will get through it if you keep trying . I am very open when it comes to my story because it has has taught me many lessons and allows me to know if I could get through that than I could get through anything. |
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
In Freshman year, I was asked to become a leader to bring in peers from my grade to a lunch club called Boys to Mentality. We started off strong, but it would soon die off once lunch wasn’t provided by school. The following year, a friend and I started it back up and we still are currently running we have 17 kids. Our club has a system where we met on fridays any male of any grade is invited and we have one person bring in food, everyone eventually does it. The club is called Boy to Mentality because our goal is to bring “boys” to “men” which involves learning how to treat your girlfriend and gaining leadership skills and more. Some fridays, we have special guest who come into to speak to us and share their story whether it is about drugs and alcohol abuse or if it just coming in and see what us (Boys to Mentality) do. We even ask for feedback from visitor because we really would like to build a safe fun foundation so that the club can continue even after my class of 2017 graduates. |