I heard about YAC from past members, specifically the 2024 seniors involved. I am interested in joining YAC because I believe being involved in the community is very important, and making the change you want to see if a good skill to have in every aspect of life. Having an organization that allows young adults to be active in the community and have a say in their future is important to me. I would bring a positive attitude, an open mind, and past leadership skills. I enjoy bouncing ideas around and finding new ways to solve problems, and thinking of ways to better myself and those around me, which I believe will transfer to bettering the community.

Community service means making an effort to better the community, whether the action is big or small. Community service is a group of people coming together to help some aspect of the community, as a whole, or in small portions. I have been impacted by community service, as one year my family and I were in the "adopt a family" program for Christmas, as we had fallen into a place where we were not able to give my siblings and I, specifically my, at the time, three year old brother, what he needed or wanted for the year. The idea that a family was willing to spend some of their Christmas time helping my family out meant, and continues to mean so much to me and my family.

Academic pressure is something that not just High schoolers deal with. Although the pressure to succeed and do well in school is certainly more prominent the older we get, it can begin for some as early as middle school, or even late in elementary school. The competitive environment is a driving factor for many kids, and is important to growth and success. However, at a certain point the pressure to do well can overwhelm the intended nature of the pressure and competition. I personally know several kids that take their academics very seriously, and although their hard work ays off, they find themselves measuring their value in their grades, and they allow tests or quizzes to ruin their day, or even their week. By starting at an early age and enforcing it to kids that they are not defined by a number, or a letter grade, but rather the amount of effort they put in can help with the results later in their school careers when getting 100% on a test becomes harder and harder. Ensuring that children are still making an attempt at school is very important, but I believe it should be common knowledge to kids that it's okay if you are not at the top of your class, your best is all you are able to do, and you can still do well later in life if you don't ace your math test. Teachers, and even parents or people at home contribute to the idea of grades or scores defining success, so by encouraging just doing the best of your abilities and not being afraid to ask for help, students are more less likely to let a letter or percentage define them, or how they will do later on in life.

If accepted into YAC I will prioritize my commitment to the organization by ensuring that the meetings and any sort of volunteer activity takes precedence over other activities that I do not have a prior commitment to. I am involved with the competitive dance team at Dance Dynamics, the Marshall High School Varsity Cheer team, and I currently work at Design Studio East, and have applied for the MCCU Student teller. I do not believe that any of these activities would prohibit me from attending meetings or volunteer opportunities, as my boss, as well as my coaches have proven to be very lenient in working with each other to ensure that my schedule works out and I am able to participate in what is necessary.

I have never applied for YAC.