NH by Adriana

NH by Adriana - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

How has your community service defined who you are and influenced your plans for the future? (603/500-600)
As one of my primary areas of interest, I devote hours of time each week to volunteer work. These past two years I’ve worked with the National Honors Society to raise money for the Nashua Police Athletic League and End 68 Hours of Hunger. Separately, I volunteer with St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Red Cross Club.
Each year, NHS focuses on a new community struggle to overcome. Last year’s Nashua PAL project gave local youths the chance to succeed by creating a safe and supportive environment. As an NHS member, I spent hours cleaning the public Nashua Railroad Trail of wrappers, broken bottles, and needles. We also raised money through after-school concessions and worked with students after school at the Nashua center. This year, we have dedicated our efforts to providing lower-income class students with the food that they often lack over the weekend, through action at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and fundraising for End 68 Hours of Hunger. My experiences with NHS have given me a second look at my position in society. I’m lucky enough to have a supportive network of family and friends, a quality high school, and a financial situation that wouldn’t give my next meal a second thought. As a volunteer, a student, and a community member, perspective is always an important point of consideration.

At St. Joseph’s Hospital, there has always been a wheelchair to push, a visitor to guide, or a patient to check in. During this time, I’ve conversed with nurses and doctors, gotten a feel for the hospital atmosphere, and confirmed my love for medicine. I have been volunteering there for almost three years, and every day has been wonderfully different. Working at St. Joseph’s Hospital has given me a look at the inner working of the medical field, while also fueling my love for humanitarian work. In college, I will spend much of my time in hospitals as a premedical student. After receiving my medical degree, I plan on taking part in a program such as Doctors without Borders or the Peace Corp to continue giving back to my community.

My involvement with the Hollis Brookline High School Red Cross Club started my freshman year. I began as a member and moved up as elected treasurer in my junior year. As the current Red Cross President, I run meetings, organize and manage events, and act as the main point of correspondence. We work with the Red Cross to support the armed forces, raise money for disaster relief, educate the public, and work with blood services. This has been the most productive years of my four-year involvement in the club, and I hope to continue this sort of determination and stamina with groups that I pursue in the future. Red Cross groups are offered in a variety of universities across the country; if the college that I eventually choose does not offer such an opportunity, I will most definitely take action and create a group of my own. This organization has shown me the potential that I have not only as a volunteer, but also as a leader. It brings me joy to not only be the leader of such a giving group of students, but to see such positive and widespread effects of our hard work and determination.

As a young student with many opportunities, I have the chance to make a profound impact, to leave a forward-reaching mark in my wake. With similarly dedicated mindsets and common high expectations, this generation can accomplish just about anything. All it takes is a little creativity, some hard work, and a whole lot of passion.