My name is Nayeli Taveras. I am a teen of Dominican descent living in Bel Air, MD. I strive to get honor roll by studying and having great relationships with my teachers. I was elected president of the Spanish Honor Society this year which entails planning monthly meetings, leading those meetings, and creating opportunities for more service hours. An extracurricular I have really enjoyed is dance. I have been dancing ever since I was 3 and will be ending my dance career this year. But I also find joy in other things like shopping, hanging out with friends, and playing Roblox. My whole life I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, but I wasn’t sure what field I was interested in. The older I got, the more aware I became of the many insecurities people have. I never realized how deeply it affected people. As a kid, the word insecurity doesn’t exist. You don’t have any insecurities. As a teen, not only do you have insecurities yourself, but you hear your friends complain about theirs. Especially about their skin. Some people have acne and/or acne scars, some have dry skin, or even rosacea. There’s one thing in common; they are embarrassed by it. Skin is one of the first things people notice, and when someone feels unhappy with it, their confidence can suffer. This is why I want to become a dermatologist. I want to be the person that not only helps boost my patient’s confidence, but I want them to learn that it’s not embarrassing. Everyone deserves to be comfortable in their own skin. But I won’t just focus on teens, I want to help people of any age. Skin concerns do not disappear with time, and many adults continue to struggle silently. I could help Spanish-speaking patients as well, opening a whole new community to people who may feel excluded from proper care. This will make my field more accessible to people who may not be able to communicate their needs in English. I want to be part of the 4.5% of dermatologists that are Hispanic, which motivates me even more to represent and support underrepresented communities in healthcare. Being able to care for both a patient’s skin and their confidence is what draws me to dermatology. I know it is a career where I can truly make a difference, no matter the age, background, or language.

My name is Nayeli Altagracia Taveras. I am a Dominican teen living in Maryland. I am very passionate about my culture and language. Because of this, I was elected president of the Spanish Honor Society. I also am in the Voices of Equity club in my school where we host events about diversity. Since I am so involved in my school, I have met and communicated with so many different people of different races, religions, and ethnicities. I care deeply about other people and feel such empathy when I see others going through a rough patch. From an early age, church has been a big part of my life. So once I became older, I started volunteering to contribute to my church’s community. I have mainly volunteered in the food pantry. Helping with the food pantry entails preparing bags of food, collecting donations, helping people carry the bags to their car, and organizing the pantry. This includes cleaning up after food pick-up hours. So, If I were to start a charity it would be to help with world hunger. Unfortunately, there are many people who cannot afford to properly feed their families and must rely on fast food instead of healthier options. Not only does this lead to poor nutrition, but long-term health problems, stress, and overall lower quality of life. Thankfully, there are solutions that can help relieve this burden, such as donating food. Many people buy food that ends up going uneaten, often times this is due to it being forgotten in the pantry. Instead of it going to waste, this unused food can be donated to those in need. We can collect boxes and cans of unopened food and donate them to local food banks or pantries. This may seem too simple, but with a large number of people it can really make difference. 1/6 of adults in America rely on food banks to get the nutrients them and their family need. This shows how serious this issue really is. It’s a simple but powerful way to make a big difference. Another way to help is by volunteering at said food banks or pantries. There are many important roles available. We can sort or collect donated food, cook meals, assemble meal kits, distribute them, or make home deliveries to those who may not be able to travel. Volunteering is also a great opportunity to meet people who care deeply about helping others. We would be building and strengthening our community while helping those in need. By donating food and putting in a little bit of our time, we can take those crucial steps to reduce the difficult situation of world hunger and create a caring and supportive world.

Nayeli Taveras Mas Que Palabras My childhood was colored in Spanish. That was my only form of communication with my family. It was the only language I knew. It connected me with my family members. But that all changed when I started preschool with teachers and classmates who only spoke English. As a result, English became my main language of communication. From ages 6 through 11, I struggled to speak Spanish. Whenever my grandparents visited us from the Dominican Republic, I had no way to communicate with them. The awkward silence between us would be deafening. I loved my grandparents and I missed being able to connect with them. \ It felt like I was grieving people that were sitting right in front of me. My family would make fun of me whenever I mispronounced something. No matter how hard I practiced, I never gained the confidence I once had. I had officially given up. In the summer of 2016, my cousins and I went to the Dominican Republic with my grandmother. I was the oldest out of the 4 so I was responsible for navigating around the airport. At only 9 years old I had to figure out a way to tell my grandmother where the security line was, where the bathroom was, and which gate we had to go to. My cousin Sarah who was 7 at the time had to translate everything for me. I was embarrassed. Why did my 7-year-old cousin have to translate for me when I’m the oldest? Throughout the whole summer, she was the one translating for me. After that trip, I realized that I had to keep trying. I elected to take Spanish classes throughout middle school. As a way to push myself, I worked on speaking exclusively in Spanish with my teacher, Mr. Cornejo. At home, I asked my parents for help in finding ways to get engaged in my learning. Also, I continued going to the Dominican Republic every other summer. While I was there, I would not only be immersed in the language, but I would ask Sarah to teach me words or phrases to use what I learned to speak with my grandparents. Finally it started to pay off, I was quickly learning and could speak more fluently. It was such a relief being able to laugh with them again. To this day I continue learning Spanish. I still make mistakes from time to time, but I’ve learned not to be embarrassed and instead be proud of myself for persevering despite the challenges. Freshman year of high school I was able to skip Spanish I and II. That same year, I joined the Spanish Honor Society, where I tutor students who struggle with the language. Now, as a senior I am the elected president of the Spanish Honor Society. I know there are people out there feeling what I once felt, just from the other side. I hope to continue my education as a Biology major to become a dermatologist. I want to be a doctor that can help those who feel misunderstood by merging the language barrier for my future patients. I want them to feel relief that their doctor can make them feel welcomed regardless of the communication difficulty they regularly encounter. To realize that I speak Spanish instead of feeling stressed or embarrassed because they can’t communicate their needs in English. Learning Spanish became more than words, or like my grandmother said, “mas que palabras.” It’s what connected me to my roots and my family. Now it’s what will connect me to my patients.

Nayeli Taveras Lessons That Live On In 2019 I started middle school. I was terrified thinking back on what my elementary school teachers would say, “everything is more serious in middle school, teachers are more strict.” Of course now looking back, I realize that was a little silly, but 12 year old me was still scared. During 6th grade orientation, we met our homeroom teachers and learned how to open our lockers. That’s when I met Mr. Endlich, or Mr. E, which is what we all called him. Everyone sat down awkwardly and was completely silent. But, that didn’t stop him from being his normal energetic self. He automatically started making jokes and got students to laugh and open up. All of a sudden we were conversing with each other and having fun. Now the middle school I went to isn’t necessarily a good school. There were students that would smoke, skip class, or yell at teachers and be disrespectful. But, that didn’t stop Mr. Endlich from being the kind soul he was. In fact, he was the only teacher the bad kids actually listened to and respected. One day I was with my friend during passing period and he needed to get his lunch box out of his locker, so I went with him. Technically we weren’t supposed to go to our locker at that time, but it was on the way to his next class. That particular day another teacher was standing outside her classroom and she started yelling at him for going to his locker. He got frustrated and started yelling back, “I’m just getting my lunch box!” It eventually turned into a screaming match. Mr. E came out of his classroom to speak to him, “You are better than this, you know it.” My friend instantly calmed down and walked away. Mr. E didn’t have to yell; he simply pulled him aside and spoke to him. That was the difference between him and other teachers at school, he always remained calm. He knew what every student needed in the moment. Fast forward to June 28th, 2022, Mr. Endlich tragically lost his life in a car crash due to a drunk driver. I was heartbroken. It was such a shock to me since I had just seen him the week prior at my 8th grade graduation. He was so loved, therefore there was a candle lighting in his honor. Not only was his whole family there, but his school family too. Kids that I would never expect to see at an event like this attended. Kids that never had him as a teacher and students he taught in the 90’s assisted. That’s how big of an effect he had on everyone’s lives. He made such a difference in so many people’s lives that even the news came and made a video to show that teachers really have an impact on their students. One of my former classmates Jemier Bensen said in the video, “He was always happy. Whenever he taught a class, it was always fun. I can't think of nobody that did not like Mr. E.” Because that was the truth, there wasn’t anyone that did not like Mr. E. Sometimes I still see posts about him saying how he will never be forgotten. Now I try to live life to the fullest, because we never know when anything something can happen. Or in his words, “I’m living the dream.” Long Live Mr. Endlich