I recently graduated from Burlingame High School, where I was involved in various clubs: dance, the Alzheimer’s Research Club, and the Leo’s club. Alzheimer’s club revolved around research and raising awareness, while dance was an experience to be social and connect with other students as I first entered high school. Then there is the Leo’s Club, which is the youth organization of Lions International. I was first introduced to the club by a former Lions Club President, Ken Ingram. As he discussed the goals of Leo’s Club and the services we do throughout the year, I immediately wanted to join. Entering junior year of high school I wanted to become a cabinet member of the club, taking the position of treasurer for the last two years at Burlingame. I worked with Nancy Ingram, the Lions Club treasurer in filing and managing the finances of both the adult and youth clubs. 

Leo’s Club allowed me to serve my community in a wide range of activities. The most recent event I participated in was the annual Burlingame Easter Egg Hunt, where we wrapped 3,000 chocolate eggs in preparation to distribute to the children the day of the hunt. We also helped in E-waste events, taking apart any old electronics those in our community would leave, helping to promote the importance of recycling. Besides attending events, I helped in projects such as the African Library Project. The African Library Project is a non-profit organization that allows volunteers to collect, organize, and ship books to help create a library in Africa. Our first shipment consisted of 1,000 children’s books that went toward a library in Malawi. Another one of my favorite projects was collecting bread tags, where 50,000 of them can be recycled into a wheelchair for an individual in need. Not only were the Leo’s members participating, but we were able to place bags in every classroom for students to collect and save them as well. By being involved in these events and projects, I feel more closely connected to those in my community. With this scholarship, I plan on continuing to volunteer and attend events where I can help those in my community.