Going through old family artifacts, listening to old family stories and recipes– growing up, I was not familiar with the Japanese language, which encouraged me to take Japanese throughout high school. This created a wall between my culture and myself. During my junior year, I came across the National Japanese Honors Society– a club meant for Japanese 3 and AP Japanese students that aimed to get students to participate in their community, while learning more about Japanese culture and language– and became the secretary for the club. Being secretary, raising money was important due to the cost of paying for each member’s end-of-the-year awards and the causes we donated to. One of the biggest funding events– our school food fair– was something I had to organize when it came to pricing and reaching our goal of at least $150 while also spreading Japanese culture. In the form of pamphlets that our members created and displayed, we introduced people to the culture of spam musubi and the Japanese language that surrounds it. Not only did I gain a greater connection with my board members, but the JNHS members as well as we were able to sell well and increase our funding for the club. This role helped to deepen my connection with my culture and language by providing me with a leadership role that balanced financial responsibilities, while also giving the community a clearer understanding of Japanese culture. When I got my first dog, I wanted to give back to animal shelters within my community as a way to introduce more people to a potential friend for life. Since 2023, I have been volunteering for the Elk Grove Animal Shelter on most weekends along with my dad-- cleaning kennels, bowls, toys, and walking the dogs. From the time I started, I have gained about 224 hours in community service. In the beginning, I was about 14 when I started out as a general volunteer who mainly cleaned supplies or washed and dried blankets to keep the shelter tidy. Although it was not the cleanest job, I learned to have rigor and time management by making sure items were cleaned on time and delivered to the right kennels. However, the repetition of cleaning made me yearn to volunteer in more hands-on sections, like dog volunteers, who work along with dogs by walking and feeding them, while introducing them to potential adopters. These classes consisted of dog body language, how to train them, and the standard routine training. This switch in environment was a bit nerve-racking because I knew I would need determination to be able to not let the dog control me and earn their trust. After a while, not only was I able to gain caretaking skills, but I also gained work ethic skills that allowed me to have better time management skills. Through this scholarship, I would be greatly financially supported in my long-term path throughout my education journey into the medical field. Of course, my desire to pursue optometry and give back to my community comes at an expensive cost, so my goal is to save as much money as I can through my savings and this scholarship in order to lessen my financial burden in the future. Although my family is considered middle class, the cost of tuition at UC Davis will leave a heavy financial burden through course costs and dorming expenses. Additionally, being able to cover most of the costs of my tuition would put my mind at ease and allow me to focus on my studies rather than trying to balance excessive work.

Going through old family artifacts, listening to old family stories and recipes– growing up, I was not familiar with the Japanese language, which encouraged me to take Japanese throughout high school. Before I took Japanese in high school, I often felt like there was a barrier between my culture and me, like when listening to conversations or jokes in Japanese with my family members, making me feel like like my identity was far out of my reach. During my junior year, I came across the National Japanese Honors Society– a club meant for Japanese 3 and AP Japanese students that aimed to get students to participate in their community, while learning more about Japanese culture and language– and became the secretary for the club. By engaging my amateur Japanese skills, I finally felt more connected to my culture through the connection I made with other peers and the projects I completed. Being secretary, raising money was important due to the cost of paying for each member’s end-of-the-year awards and the causes we donated to. One of the biggest funding events– our school food fair– was something I had to organize when it came to pricing and reaching our goal of at least $150 while also spreading Japanese culture. Teamwork, budgeting, and communication were all important skills I learned when organizing volunteering shifts, prices, and products. We also created and displayed pamphlets that introduced people to the culture of spam musubi and the Japanese language that surrounds it. However, issues arose in the process as we had to lower the initial price for students, however, we eventually got more sales from students with the lower prices. Not only did I gain a greater connection with my board members, but the JNHS members as well as we were able to sell well and increase our funding for the club. This role helped to deepen my connection with my culture and language by providing me with a leadership role that balanced financial responsibilities, while also giving the community a clearer understanding of Japanese culture. Beyond just strengthening my connection with my culture, this role introduced me to team management skills, which allowed me to make data-driven financial decisions and present my culture to my school that may not know the food side of Japanese culture. Through this leadership experience, I want to apply this to the optometry field in the future as problem solving skills and communication skills are important when analyzing patients.