Please see the video sent through email to view my video submission. 

At the beginning of the summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the St. Francis of Assisi Festival, helping serve food and drinks. During this 6-hour experience, I also helped other stations with their operation. I enjoyed helping my church community and old grade school and participating in a long-time tradition. The proceeds that were raised were given to the church helping maintain a strong community for years to come. 

Yesterday, members of the LHS community helped welcome incoming families to the school during the ice cream social. Mainly we were holding open doors and directing families to their seats in the theater, but it was also an opportunity to talk to the incoming students and make them feel welcomed into their new environment. Being able to be a part of the community by welcoming families allows me to live out charisms that the school promotes as well as represent the student body in a positive light. 

Last Wednesday, members of the Lancer Heritage Society, myself included, took part in helping set up and work the event welcoming the incoming freshman class. During this time, I helped set up the gym for activities, as well as direct traffic, and speak on behalf of the VECTOR program, informing the incoming parents about all of the ways in which VECTOR has helped me develop ideas on my possible carrier path. The experience started at 6, and I stayed beyond the hour-and-a-half time slot that I signed up for in order to continue to help. 

During the summer of 2021, my family and I took part in an experience that at first, I wasn't looking forward to. Our Parish, St. Francis of Assisi, was welcoming a new pastor from Korea, to practice his homily speeches in the form of after-homily reflections. Our job was to meet with Father John Ryu after mass and discuss the content of his reflection, as well as provide constructive criticisms in order to help him reach the entire audience. After hearing him speak for the first time, I was actually really excited to get to not only know him better but also be able to really reflect on the messages of the Gospel, which I never really paid attention to. Saying that I was impressed with Father John Ryu's speeches would be a major understatement. For someone who speaks English as a second language, he was very articulate and was even able to compare aspects of our American culture to aspects of his own. Being able to help a new pastor and welcome him into a new community has been an experience that I am grateful for, and look forward to participating again a few summers from now. 

Last night, 10/19/2022, I represented Gilmour as a Student Ambassador at an event at Noble Academy in South Euclid. During the event, two other Gilmour students and I answered questions for parents and students interested in looking at Gilmour as a potential high school option. The event was a fantastic way to connect with others from different communities and display all of the amazing qualities that our school has to offer. I was even able to take the center stage at the event and talk about my personal experience throughout my two-and-a-half years here at Gilmour. Overall I appreciate the opportunity to meet the future of our school and make them feel welcomed and wanted in our environment. 

During the summer of 2021, the heat of the pandemic made it unsafe and nerve-racking to travel anywhere, due to the risk of exposure to COVID 19. This was especially apparent through local churches, as mass was streamed online, with no in-person participants. For some, this change was devastating as they weren't able to worship God in a safe environment. I decided to change this situation. As a member of a Holy Cross school, we must embody the charisms of Zeal, and hospitality, ensuring that everyone is welcomed safely into the home of God. Mt dad, brother, mom, and myself as well as many volunteers offered to clean the church every weekend for as long as we were needed, making the church a clean and safe place of worship. We wiped pews, cleaned door handles, bathrooms, and any surface that someone could come into contact with. Our church, St. Francis of Assisi, was able to re-open mass to the public with certainty that we could love and serve God in a safe environment.