Since I was a young kid, I was raised within a Christian household where we were taught the importance of showing grace to those in need and vulnerable. This however, was more enhanced in the past three years since I began to look up more to Jesus, a man who taught the importance of grace and forgiveness to others throughout his life and death. I also appreciate my parents, who always pushed themselves to inculcate me this path alongside the importance of earning a education. If I were to be asked what impact I want to leave towards others, I would say just be willing to serve others above myself. Growing within a low income community where majority of folks are immigrants, has further pushed me to achieve this goal. I remember how last December, my family and I came together to prepare meals to hand out to homeless in one of our locals. Seeing the joy in their face as they received a sandwich, probably something we take for granted, made me feel embarrassed of how sometimes we are ungrateful, but also happy that we were able to provide hope to this folks. Their was another occasion were I was invited by my city to participate in a project showcase, were elementary students advocated for issues they would like to see be changed. The presentation that impacted me the most was one of a few young girls who wanted a new library in their campus, since the school staff didn’t seem to care providing them new books. Additionally, two of the girls who were there, came from an immigrant background and said that access to bilingual books would make their learning success much better. Coming from a immigrant family, I felt a need to provide these girls at least resources that could help them learn and grow more in their academic knowledge. These are just of the many struggles minority folks face in this country, and very little is being done to help them out. I feel like my specific career field could help address this problem. At the age of 12, I began to develop a path in pursuing law in government, through internships, college courses and being the vice chair of my city's youth commission. My goal is to attend a four year university and obtain a bachelor’s in political science. I will then use that to enter law school, and pursue a career as an attorney in intellectual property or immigration. I believe that this can help me give to those in need in various ways. I would be able to have the funds to organize greater outreach meal preps, such as those me and my family did last Christmas. Having the knowledge of law and government would also allow me to know the resources that are available for people in order to inform others about them, and even advocate for them to those in power. I don’t want to pursuit a career to be a person who just focuses solely on themselves, and ignores the needs of others. I want it to glorify God above all, but to also show grace and opportunity to those who’s doors are limited, and closed as well.

Their were many impactful experiences that have shaped my career interest. When I was around 12 years old, I developed a interest in world history, with major events such as WWII and the Cold War catching my attention. At the same time, I joined my cities youth commission with the goal of learning how city government and the world of law looks like. Today I serve as the current vice chair. Aside of my personal growth, I have also come to learn and see the struggles that other folks in my community face. I remember that last year, me and my family decided to prepare meals to distribute them to homeless in one of our local parks. Seeing the hope in their eyes for something as small as a meal, showed me that simple acts of kindness to others who aren’t as fortunate can change their life. Being raised within a immigrant and ethnic minority community, has really opened my eyes to the struggles many people face. I remember attending a showcase event of elementary students advocating on issues they believe could be fixed in our community. They advocated for the renewal of their school library, since they had brought the issue to staff in school, but didn’t do nothing about it. Additionally, two of the students their were immigrants who simply just asked to receive bilingual books to learn and grow more quickly. I believe that it has been God only who has given me the opportunity and resources to not benefit myself, but to bless others and help those in need. I am currently a high school senior, but I intend to pursue a bachelors in political science, which then I could use to go into law school. I am interested in practicing either immigration or intellectual property law. No matter which one, I believe that simply just being in a position of power and possessing the knowledge of the field can allow me to have the financial aid to organize provision events such as meal preps. It could also give me the ability to help others with greater impact, informing them of the resources they can use to help themselves or even advocating for them to those in power. To me, earning a education goes far beyond doing something for my benefit or to just earn a special place in society. It means having the blessing to help the less fortunate or just simply bring hope and joy to people’s life’s. I believe that receiving this scholarship would be off help in order to make this true and bless others.

From a young age, I was raised with the values of always looking to help others, including those who are looked down upon. Leaving within a low income community, my eyes weren’t unused to seeing the necessity that many minority folks struggled with. However, there seemed to be an invisibility towards them, as many people and officials from our city did little to address or support their issues at all. Being raised as a Christian, helping the needy was an unquestionable duty that we were all called to do. Living up to this standard wasn't always easy, as one in the rush of life, doesn't take the time to consider the actual need out there or even help fix it. This is what motivated me to help those in need, as if I or someone else stood up to help them, who else would? Last December, my family decided to come together to prepare meals to hand out in one of our local parks. As we began to give out, there was something different in their eyes as they received their meal, like a shine of hope. For us, a simple meal was a long awaited blessing to them. I recall that as one of the women received her bag, she yelled of joy that she had received a cookie, demonstrating how much it meant for them. As we continued around the park, at some point we began to give out meals to immigrant laborers who were working far away from their home countries for the holidays. Unfortunately, we ran out of bags and we couldn’t manage to give out a meal to every single person in the park. This experience was a wakening for myself as an individual, to the great necessity that there is to help out there and what it could be like for those who don’t receive the help and aid they need. Even though my heart shattered for those who couldn’t receive, I had a sense of hope for those we were able to provide for. If you were to tell me what this experience showed me, I would say these: give hope to those who are vulnerable and in need. As a society, we cannot continue with our lives as if there wasn’t any need to help people who are going through a struggle. Probably a single person's effort may not change the whole world, just as my family couldn’t feed the whole park, but it could surely bring hope to the darkness of any individual’s life. I would even dare to say that one’s life improves when one focuses on giving and helping rather than filling one's self centered needs. This experience has transformed my life to show kindness and mercy to everyone. To focus on giving hope to those who are in the midst of struggle. It has also motivated me into pursuing a career in law, where my field and even income can allow me to continue to serve others, open pathways and provide resources for those who are in need. It allows me to be the voice for the voiceless who can’t stand for themselves. I want to end by referencing a parable in the Bible where Jesus tells His disciples that we are the salt of the earth that helps prevent its corruption. Let us be that salt, which slows the decay of morale and gives time to help others

On my first day of high school, I remember entering my first period with confusion and a bit of nerve rack. It was my first day, and I was already stressing about figuring out my assigned seat. However, that’s when I heard a voice in the back say “Hey man, come sit over here”. That was my first interaction with Mr. Ammaral. At first glance, I thought he was going to be our regular high school teacher who just enjoyed reading a lot. But I later figure out that their was more to Mr. Ammaral. As a white men teaching a whole PUENTE classroom, a fact he used to make fun, he tried to keep the class from being dead. I remember that whenever we were off task’s he would try to crack a joke out of someone, or would just say funny phrases. I remember that when I tried a new hairstyle my sophomore year, he nicknamed me Hairrera, as my last name is Barrera. In the midst of work, he would also pick-up his guitar and jam songs in front of us to keep us engaged. But aside from being fun, He also was a professor who was interested in seeing his students succeed. I remember that among one of our first assignments, he asked us all to write in a paper fruit and seed who we are, are stories and what we’re dreams were in this life. Knowing that he worked with a majority of first generation students, he always pushed us to strive for more, and be willing to work hard in order to achieve the goals we wanted to achieve. It was in his class, where I learned for the first time how to properly structure an essay through the double chunk method he taught us. It was also him, who was mostly managing the puente club and program, mentoring fellow students from all grades on how to get to college, but also be willing to work and serve the community we live in. In the midst of our learning journey, he ensured that as puentista’s we didn’t forget about our culture and the inheritance we had as Hispanics. I enjoyed reading in his class the book of Zorro by Isabel Allende, as I was able to learn more about the Mexican culture embedded in Californias history alongside stories of how colonization occurred in the americas and how it has shaped our identities. When it came to answering the question on this prompt, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Mr. Ammaral. Having him as a student was a great pleasure and showed me valuable lessons. He showed me that one of the best things one could do in life is being interested in others. He could just had simply taught his students and care less of what they would do. But instead, he took time to teach this group of youth with little to no knowledge about college, and helped them get prepared for it. The personal impact he had towards me, is that beside helping me improve as a writer, and calling me Hairrera, he helped me understand how to get prepared for college better and be confident in real world scenarios such as giving a presentation. Mr. Ammaral will always be one of the most memorable teachers I have had in my whole life.

If you were to tell me that I would believe in Christ a few years back, I would probably be laughing. Although I was raised hearing about the gospel, I wasn’t that really into knowing about Him. At the time, I would say I was living the perfect life of a youth; I had good grades at school, I had friends and I was part of a band/ music academy that I enjoyed. I had everything I dreamed about but yet I felt in some way empty, and always wondered what would be my purpose in this life after school and overall. A few months later I began to have what I would call supernatural encounters where I felt that God tried to pull me closer to Him. I recall going into the theater to watch a movie called Journey to Bethlehem, which after watching I felt convicted about how the character's baby who was born in the movie, would go on to pay the price of my sin. A few months later, I would go on to finally accept Jesus in April of 2024. At the time, I had little to no clue of what that meant and what I was supposed to do, but thanks to God and my family I began to learn about the God who loved me and sacrificed His life for my sins. That call didn’t come without a cost though, as I soon felt a call to part away from my flesh felt desired in order to fully take the identity God had called me to become. This ended with me letting go of friends, lifestyles, and even the music academy which I was part of. It hurt, as I was forced to get out of the comfort that I was used to being in. However, it was for the best as I soon began to figure out what God had planned for me. In a few weeks, I began to retake music courses from a brother well known for doing worship music. His knowledge allowed me to grow on guitar and eventually join and be part of the worship ministry that I play and sing in today. This time also allowed me to intimately connect with my Lord, allowing me to grow with Him and what He wanted me to do. One of the first things I felt called to do was to show others about the eternal love that He has shown to us all. This came when I began to invite a few friends to the Bible studies and youth groups we did once a week as part of our church, which for me where small steps that have empowered me to proclaim Christ and the gospel to those in school. I have shared these examples, as I believe they represent the calling I have found in Him. It was never about my achievements and goals that would determine my purpose in life, it was always found in the identity that God had already given to me. For a long time, I had looked for the approval of others and of myself to find satisfaction, when I was supposed to be filled with Him. Although I don’t know what the future holds, in the end God is the ultimate purpose of my living. As an attorney, my goal will be to glorify God by recognizing that the best I give and do comes from Him and by treating others with the same kindness Jesus would have had. But above all, spreading the Gospels towards others will always be my objective.

Growing up in a Latino community, it wasn’t rare for me to see necessity. I remember, hearing and seeing from my family, friends and neighbors the urge of working in order to provide for their families. This however didn’t exempt them from not being prioritized for help and being looked down upon due to their ethnic background and economic status in this country. This unfortunately has been a reality that has not only been exclusively to Latinos, but to other social minorities here in this country. There have been two occasions that have highlighted this issue recently to me. On Christmas time of 2025, my family organized itself to go distribute meals to the homeless in one of our local parks. Even though we see a sandwich in our daily life’s as simple, for them it was a great blessing that they had been awaiting for a long time. Later in April of 2026, I participated as a judge for a youth enrichment program, where I was told to rate projects of elementary students whose ideas had the goal of improving their community. The project that impacted me the most was one of five students who were advocating for a renewed library, since the school didn’t seem to have the interest of providing the time and resources to make it happen. Additionally, these kids took interest in this issue because they mentioned that the majority of these schools' population weren’t native English speakers and they believed bilingual resources like books could help them grow. Experiences of necessity like these ones, shows the continued help that many people today need in these country. Seeing people struggling to earn basic opportunities and resources that we all take for granted has impulsed me to do the best to advocate for opportunities for those whose resources and voices are of “little concern” to others. I have had the privilege to serve in the Hayward Youth Commission since 2022 and as their vice chair since 2024, a position that has allowed me to bring concerns involving youth in our city. Recently, our city has been facing a budget deficit that has affected our school resources and student morale. To address these concerns and promote greater student voice involvement in our city's government, we hosted an event in march of 2026 that allowed elementary students to explore what the Youth commission was. This opportunity not only allowed us to learn about the concerns youth in our city have today, but also allowed them to understand city government and how at an early age they could already begin raising their concerns towards officials. For me, ensuring that everyone has a voice is getting to know the experiences of those who are going through hardships, and understanding the work that is to be done to help them. Then, you advocate their concerns to those in charge or open them the gateway and resources to address their concerns themselves. Contact for Hayward Youth Commission Supervisors: Ivan Padilla: Ivan.Padilla@hayward-ca.gov Larry Ewings: le740@husd.k12.ca.us

My journey on guitar didn’t begin in ministry but actaully a year back. When I was 14 years old, I decided to learn to play guitar with the interest of learning to play Mexican folk music. This eventually led me to sign up to a mariachi music academy, an opportunity which I will never forget as it allowed me to learn the basics of music such as theory and rhythms. It also allowed me to get experience in playing acoustic guitar. A few months later, I accepted Jesus as Lord, and felt a conviction to leave the academy. Even though it was disappointing, I decided to trust the Lord and walked into the unknown path He had called me to follow. At the time, I didn’t know the Lord used this to prepare me to serve in the worship ministry in the church my family and I attended. Additionally, I began taking classes with a well known guitarist within the worship genre allowing me to expand my knowledge and learn different genres of music, such as contemporary worship, funk, coritos and pop ballad. Growing up in a Hispanic church, majority of the songs from artist such as Miel San Marcos, Montesanto and Juan Carlos Alvarado relied on the crucial role of the electric guitar, a powerful and versatile instrument. I don’t recall at any point being interested in learning electric, but as I continued to listen to a few songs, I got hooked into it. Soon enough, I began to explore this instrument learning many new concepts such as power chords, triads, melodies and much more. It also allowed me to learn how to use and equalize pedals such as the Boss GT-1 and Line 6 Helix, alongside the softwares they came with. This skills not only allowed me to explore the instrument itself, but further grow as a musician alongside learning a bit of audio engineering and production. Although I didn’t know much about what the ministry was about, there was always a desire in me to use a talent that I was naturally good at to honor God. Exactly one year after following God, for the first time ever I began to play in the ministry. I enjoyed playing my instrument of course, and also learn how it felt to work with other musicians, but there was something that felt more special to me: welcoming Gods presence. Knowing that every service, I had the opportunity to guide others to encounter the God who loves us carried a weight of responsibility, but also joy knowing that I am doing something to expand the kingdom. I have pushed myself as well to not keep my talent confined to the walls of my congregation, but also outside of it in places such school with friends and online through small clips. Surrendering these talent to His service has been the best choice I have done with this instrument.

In the summer prior to my Junior year, I emailed my counselor that I wanted to consider switching my physics course for another science one. I had previously mentioned to her that I wanted to take regular anatomy, but she ended up placing me inside anatomy honors. I remember being concerned once she has mentioned me this, as my previous history with other past science courses such as biology wasn’t the best, yet she assured me that I would be fine in this course. However the reality would turn out being different from what she had mentioned. I remember that during the first weeks of class I took notes and did the assignments, yet none of the information taught during the day was able to get stuck inside my brain. The effects didn’t took that long to been shown, as during our first class quiz I got a bad grade. I was extremely disappointed at myself, as I have always been a student who has tried to maintain straight A’s while handling other extracurricular activities during the week. I was even considering at one point to go to my counselors office to see if I could switch to just regular anatomy. However, one night I was having a conversation with my mom regarding the course and how much I was struggling on it. Instead of giving me a word of consolation or encouraging me to drop the course, she pushed me to accept the fact that I needed to work even harder than other previous courses to pass these class. I never taught about it these way, as many of the classes I had taken got me used to not challenging myself and work hard as I was naturally good at them. Following this talk, I began to make it a priority to at least in between my breaks and at home to take 20 minutes outside of my day to review the notes we had taken in the previous two days. These pushed me to be more efficient with my time management, even at some point sacrificing my lunch periods and even break periods during other classes in order to study and review anatomy work. Soon however, the results of my work would begin to reap as in the following two quizzes, I was able to return my grade back to a A, and for the rest of the year, this strategy would go on to guarantee me success in the class. Although this challenge was one of the hardest I had to face in all my academic experience, the result not only molded me inside school but outside of it too. It challenged me to work the extra mile if I really wanted to keep my grades in the best condition as possible and taught me the importance of managing and multitasking work and time in the midst of other five periods. It also taught me the importance of being disciplined and organized outside the classwork environment, as if I wanted to continue being involved in the activities outside school, I needed to ensure that my class grades wouldn’t compromise the commitment I already had established with other groups I worked with. The longterm impact this would have was that it made me take advantage of my free time at home and even applying that same discipline of these course with the other organizations I am active outside of school.

For many students college means probably this: a path to making a name for themselves or an opportunity of leaving home and finding adventure. However, the meaning of an education means beyond that to me, as a matter of fact it began around 27 years ago. Around that time, my family migrated from central Mexico to the U.S in hopes of looking for a better future. One that didn’t come freely, but with various challenges. They were forced to leave the home they had known for a long time, learn a new language and lifestyle that was the norm in this country. Hard work and dedication was the only appropriate response to the challenges that came their way, until they were able to settle a stable future for their families. Looking now at where my family is at, I can say that it can be thanks to my grandparents and parents effort that I have been able to have a stable life. One that has given me the privilege to not worry of struggles at all or questioning if there is going to be enough food on the table for the next day. Making the most of the pathway they had already set for me and my sister is the only appropriate response to thank them for their sacrifice and hard work. This story of my family however is not one that has been exclusive to them, but it’s the harsh reality and truth that many immigrant families face here in this country. Growing up in the midst of a Hispanic community, I was exposed to similar stories of struggles that my family had faced when they migrated. This common norm found within my people, made my eyes open to the necessity that not only Hispanics face, but also anyone who’s in a position of vulnerability where they can’t even hold up themselves. I remember a time when my family and I prepared meals to hand out to the homeless in the park, yet it came to our realization that the necessity was so immense that we were not able to supply to all those in the park without a roof. This has shattered my heart, as these experiences not only demonstrated to me how privileged I have been to have my family support me, but also that there is a greater necessity out there than we could have ever possibly imagined. College means to me more than self glory. It means an opportunity to learn the knowledge and skills in order to serve others. I am interested in pursuing a career as an attorney, which I believe my knowledge in the paralegal system could help me beyond just staying informed. It could help me to advocate for awareness and policies that are for the benefit of the vulnerable and open greater paths for those who don’t have one. It can allow me to have access to resources, not for my own benefit, but rather to give a hand to those in need. Thats why I want an education, not for interest, but as a sign of compassion and gratitude for those who struggle and those who have helped me be where I am at now.

A few years ago, I started to make it a priority for myself to serve and give to others. Growing up in a christian household, I was taught the importance of many values, one of them being taking care and loving others over oneself. This however didn’t become evident in my life until I began to accept those values and motives into my own heart. From that moment, I began to look for every single opportunity I could use to help serve others. This started off with basic decisions, such as taking time out of my work in class to help out classmates. Basic moments such as being patient enough to break down a problem weren't easy as one as a human wants to just give up explaining. However seeing that those I helped ended up having a better concept of the problem made me feel happy, not for myself, but because I knew I was able to make someone's day. These were just some of the simple habits I began doing, but these changes became evident as well for the work I did for my community. Around Christmas time of 2025, me & my family decided to come together to prepare meals for the homeless in one of our local parks. As we arrived at the park, my reality turned dark, as I began to see the need that these folks were in. Yet they seemed to have a glimmer of hope and excitement in their eyes as they received their meal. At one point, we also began to give out food to laborers who were away from their home country during the holidays. Knowing that even though we weren’t able to solve the whole world's problem but make at least a single person's day, filled my heart with joy and motive to help out more. Beside being involved in giving in my personal life, I have also tried to get involved in my community and city. Serving as Vice Chair of my city’s youth commission has given me the access to events that allow me to get involved in my city. I remember that during the 2025 Earth day event, fellow commissioners and I came together to help clean up one of our local parks. Even though the job was tiring and endless, we were not only able to help clean up our city, but also bond and take time to admire the beauty of nature. At one point other staff and I came together to plant a tree, which allowed us to giggle,bond & laugh around as we struggled to plant it. Selflessness has not been easy for me, but I believe that when one goes out of the way to help, it could have a great impact not only on others, but in one's way of seeing life.

Around Christmas time of 2025, me and my family felt a need to share hope to those who weren't fortunate like us to have a safe place for the holidays. They began to remember when they themselves experienced hardship during the 2009 recession. For a few days, we began to plan to go out to one of our local parks in our community and deliver home-made food bags for homeless people. When the day of preparation came, my entire household came together to make sure the bags had a meal,snack, drink and message of hope for those who needed it. Not only did this allowed me to serve my community, but it gave us time as a family to come together, talk and laugh as we worked for a common goal. As we arrived, our eyes open up to the great necessity we had't belived in our minds we would encounter. We walked into finding people setting their beds on the floor with nothing but blankets and storing their valuables in plastic bags or market carts. We splitted into groups of two and began to roam the park. As we handed the meal bags to people, I could see a look of sadness and necessity, but at the same time a glimmer of hope as they received and took a bite into their meal. At some point I even remember as we walked away from a lady who received her bag. I remember she began to scream of joy that she had received a cookie, a snack that many would say dosen't signify nothing but for her it meant a lot. We continue to roam around the parks, and at some point we werent just finding ourselves feeding homeless, but even laborers who seemed to be talking with their families from their homecountries. Even though their struggles weren't the same as the others we came to help. The oppurtunity we had to share kindness to others during a time were they found themselves far from those they loved was worth it. Unfortunateley, the amount of meals we made weren't a match to the great amount of necessity that was in that park. As we left, not only did my heart felt sorrowed for the people who couldn't receive a meal, but my eyes opened up to a reality that many people unfortunatley have become ignorant about. That is the necessity to help those vulnerable and less fortunate if we have the oppurtunity to do so. Just like that lady, a small act of kindness could be someone’s shine.