Community Leadership Essay

Life struggles and injustices in my community have shaped me into a passionate, determine, and empathetic community leader. My aspiration in building stronger and safer communities derived from the obstacles I experienced as a first generation Chicana, growing up in a low income community. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles where at age 11, I witnessed how education inequity played a critical role in the life opportunity and academic success of the youth in my community. During my first two years in Stevenson Middle School, I began losing friends and classmates due to drugs and alcohol, gang violence, and delinquency. Throughout those two years, I lived with fear and anxiety not knowing whether tomorrow I would be alive. I had no mentors

The stories and resilience I’ve seen and heard remind of the importance of civic engagement and leadership. I recognize that without the support of mentors such as Mr. Bravo, I would not be writing these words today. At age 22, I have returned to the community that shaped the individual I am today. My way of giving back for the opportunities I have had in life is by serving as a resource, mentor, and tutor to the youth in my community. I work closely with 11 at risk eight grade students at Carver Middle School, a school in South Los Angeles. My purpose in serving in this community is because my students deserve a quality education that will allow them to develop the skills to be civically engaged citizens. Therefore, building brave spaces for my students is crucial to me; because, I am aware of the importance of social and emotional support of one’s personal and professional development. I want my students to know that they matter and that they are not

I want to pursue a career in Multicultural Community Counseling, because, I seek to fulfill an absence of leaders who are passionate and empathetic in building stronger and safer communities. I am applying to the Community Based Block Program at SDSU, because I want to develop a cross cultural knowledge of how to be therapeutic to others. My hope is to earn a M.S. in Counseling that prepares me for working in underserved urban schools. I hope to obtain the skills needed to work with historically disadvantaged and low income communities. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy and successful life. By being a counselor I will continue to empower the youth to reach their full potential and encourage my community to be civically engaged. I believe that together we can build a stronger and safer