Live Like Sam congratulates Eimee Meneses on her standout essay that granted her the Coles Sports and Live Like Sam Community scholarship. We wanted to share part of her essay because it is encouraging to hear our youth move toward their goals and dreams!
Eimee’s Story:
Immigrating to the United States from the Philippines in third grade, I was exposed to a new country, culture, and community. I credit my Filipino values for keeping me grounded and disciplined, however, optimism has become a critical motivator in my life. Watching my parents work from before sunrise to midnight ignites my drive to complete high school and pursue higher education so I don’t have to follow that same routine. The dark circles beneath their eyes, constant back pain, and calloused hands encourage me to strive for a career in the medical field. I hope to build a better life for my family, as well as help others in my community. I will walk across the stage with a diploma in hand and head to college to show that their hard work and sacrifice paid off.
I am a quiet leader. Growing up, I have always been shy, quiet, and emotional. Even though these were traits that held me back from comfortably communicating and knowing others, I slowly worked my way through to gain more self-confidence. It was a tough journey of trial and error in finding my inner leader, but I learned that my quietness wasn’t a weakness but a strength.
Even though my life isn’t full of thrills and adventures, my journey of becoming a leader from an introverted perspective certainly became a challenging and rewarding developmental experience. Now, I use my strength as a leader to give back to my community by volunteering during my free time. I often help out local non-profit organizations like the Christian Center, Solomon Fund, and Big Brothers Big Sisters as a volunteer, translator, and mentor. My impact is mostly seen as a translator for the Solomon Fund events by translating important information to the bilingual community about the opportunities in Park City. Seeing the excitement from the kids and the smiles on the parents’ faces brings a rewarding feeling of using my multilingual strength to help out my community.