A close friend of mine, Jose, dropped out of high school 4 months ago. He had come to the United States from El Salvador to learn English and find a bright future, but our school system failed him. His teachers had too many students and too little time, so he never got the academic support he needed to graduate. I tried my best to help him. Every day we would work together on his schoolwork, learn the English alphabet, and count. He later told me that I was like a brother to him, and that I was the reason he stayed in school for as long as he did. When word got around at the school that I was tutoring English as a Second Language (ESL), more and more students began to come to me for help. As of right now, I have a classroom of around 16 ESL and refugee students who I teach during our school’s study hall period. All of that is to say, these students need our help. In my community, Hispanic and ESL students have higher dropout rates and lower household incomes than the rest of the population-- a tragedy that is reflected across not just the country, but the world. This inequality has weighed on me for a long time. Even back in middle school, I taught ESL. There was no tutoring program in place then, so I had to make one. With the help of our school counselor, I designed and founded a group to help ESL learners become a part of their school community and learn English. There were nine members total: eight Spanish-speaking students, and me. I’m now in my senior year of high school, fighting the same fight. Alongside tutoring, I know that real, structural change must take place. I have spoken to the School Board, and been in communication with the County Director of Teaching in order to implement my program in other schools in the area. When I become a teacher, I will have the resources to educate students that the school system seems to forget. Right now, I teach for half an hour every day. Soon it will be full-time, and I hope to be able to dedicate my life to service. Students like Jose are smart. They are capable of so much, but they are curtailed by the fact that they don’t yet understand English. Despite my 4.0 in the US, I would certainly be failing all of my classes if I suddenly moved to India! My passion is helping these bright students realize their potential. Through my time teaching, I have seen it happen. There’s something deeply gratifying about watching something click in a student’s head, when they finally understand a concept they’ve been struggling with for months. Educating others is my passion, but it can be hard. It can be heartbreaking. But in the end, I know it is worth it. Immigrants and refugees across the world need our help, and educating them is a crucial, local step to making a difference.