Champions of Change
I am from Lake Elsinore, a small town in southern California and I attend Stanford University. In line with my strong passion for environmental protection, I decided to pursue a major in Atmosphere/Energy Engineering, which deals with mitigating atmospheric pollution via energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. In my freshman year, I joined a student volunteer group called Project Motivation also known as ProMo, and later served as Volunteer Coordinator and Co-President. Founded out of El Centro Chicano, ProMo gives free tours of Stanford and college panel discussions to visiting schools of low-income first-generation students. I found creative ways, like Youtube videos, to help grow ProMo's membership to new levels, in terms of both numbers and diversity. I have also been involved with Stanford GRID, a volunteer group whose goal is to install solar electric systems for low-income families throughout California, often reducing electric bills by as much as 70%; engaging and educating families, providing hands on experience to local job trainees, and educating the broader community about the benefits of solar power. I have also done volunteer tutoring at my high school and I still regularly return to give college talks to inform and inspire the students in my own community as well to pursue higher education.