Across all my extracurriculars, I have volunteered over 130 hours of community service. Many new families in West Liberty move from Mexico, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico in pursuit of food processing careers at the local meat plants just like my parents did in 2005.

Growing up as a Sikh, I've been raised with a strong commitment to helping those around me, regardless of the circumstances in my own life. My religious upbringing in Sikhism has translated into real-world practice through my engagement in 'Seva,' representing selfless service carried out without any expectation of reward.

Growing up as a Sikh, I've been raised with a strong commitment to helping those around me, regardless of the circumstances in my own life. My religious upbringing in Sikhism has translated into real-world practice through my engagement in 'Seva,' representing selfless service carried out without any expectation of reward.

Sophomore year, my friend Isabel and I coordinated a fundraiser for Columbus House, a local shelter that aids hundreds of homeless New Haveners, but COVID took a toll on its capacity.

I used to raise American Girl Dolls for a living. I stopped parenting when I put my last child away and have not taken them back out until recently when I joined a peer group at my local church.

Throughout my life, I've found fulfillment in supporting others while actively preserving my independence. Witnessing my half-brother's struggles with his birth mother left an indelible mark on me, which ignited my passion for lending a helping hand to those facing adversity.

In the second grade, my life took a sudden detour. The comfortable world I knew crumbled as my parents divorced, leaving my mother, my sister, and me homeless. Chaos became our unwelcome companion, bringing not just physical disruption but also a silent battle with mental health. Abuse and neglect shadowed my days, clouding the innocence of my childhood. Mental health was a relentless battle I found myself grappling with.

There is a wide variety of qualities when being defined as a Chinese person. The expectation that everyone grew up and fluently learning one common language does not reflect differing backgrounds that speak dialects. Chinese isn’t just one language. The language I speak, Taishanese, is known as the “dirty” variant of Cantonese due to its low mutual intelligibility and a small population of speakers. Amongst my Chinese peers, I felt secluded, unable to communicate with others in my own language.