The best and most rewarding thing I get to do as a student at UCLA is work as a volunteer in the program Bruin Partners. Through BP, I have had the opportunity to meet, tutor, and mentor some really great middle school kids. Even though I am the one helping them do their homework, I feel that I learn just as much from them as they do from me.Like many other people, “who I am” has been significantly influenced by my upbringing and my family. However, unlike most families who have their relatives scattered across the country, I was fortunate to grow up with nearly all my extended family living no more than five minutes away from me. Having the support of so many aunts, uncles, and cousins along with the support of my parents and grandparents, I grew up always wanting to fulfill their expectations and follow in the footsteps of all my older cousins, who I constantly looked up to. My parents always told me “the sky is the limit” and that I am capable of achieving whatever I put my mind to. As a result, I always worked hard, especially in middle school and high school, since I knew that I could have a bright future by doing well in school.As a mentor for Bruin Partners, I try, in a sense, to help those kids feel like I did growing up. Many of them do not have access to the same resources, family support, and encouragement that I had throughout my childhood. Although a number of the students are extremely bright, most of them have never been told that college is an option for them or that they, through hard work and persistence, can achieve many things they never imagined. Therefore, getting to be involved in their lives and being able to encourage them, in a sense, allows me to give back and provide the same type of support that has helped me throughout my own life.
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