VOLUME 1, N1

3 - 2 - 1 SE N I O R P RO J E C T !
N E W S L ET T E R
JUNE 2017

Senior Research Project

GREAT
LEADERS
DONT SET
OUT TO BE A
LEADER
THEY SET As senior year rapidly comes
to a close, I am beginning to
OUT TO reflect on my life thus far. For
MAKE A DIF- this project the purpose is to
FERENCE. essentially research on myself
to identify and discuss three
ITS NEVER defining moments in my life,
ABOUT THE two critical choices, and one
influential person who has im-
ROLE- pacted my life.
ALWAYS There have been defining mo-
ABOUT THE ments in my life, both positive
and negative, that have de-
GOAL. fined and redefined who I am.
Those events entered my con-
sciousness with such power
that they changed the very core of who and what I thought I was.
A part of me has changed by those events, and caused to define myself, to some de-
gree by my experience of that event.
Critical choices are those that have changed my life, positively or negatively, and are
major factors in determining who and what I will become. They are the choices that
have affected my life up to today, and have set me on a path.
An influential person is someone who has left an indelible impression on who you are
and how I live. Their influence can be either positive or negative.
This is my story, the one that is never told.
Defining Moments

BATTALION Commander

A leader is a person who shows courage, humility, and always

puts their people before themselves. A person who wants to
lead must break the egg shell and leave their comfort
zone. Something that I knew was nearly impossible for me. High school has taught me
many ways of serving and being better, however, the struggle of always succeeding for
higher positions always held me back because I thought I wasn't good enough.
As a JROTC Cadet, I have always had the opportunity to show and work with my lead-
ership skills. However, within the first month of school, I had to change many of my respon-
sibilities. There was a change in the chain of command, where, I had to step up to act as the
Battalion Commander, and prove my abilities of leading my peers. I had been qualified to
represent and make the battalion better. Allowing me to change my mindset in leading oth-
ers; this simple change has taken me out of my comfort zone. I have changed my views in
how I wanted things to work and had to accomplish them when the date was set; the new
role has set many hardships when it comes to dealing with my academics, but it has allowed
me to learn how to manage myself and others.
Setting myself in this picture is an ac-
complishment that has not only prove to me
that I am capable of being superior but that it
is possible to gain what you have worked for.
Difficulties have surrounded me with the
changes, since I have to step up and be a true
leader. At the end, even though I will continue
to challenge myself to accomplish many
things outside and inside the battalion, I am
looking forward to change the view of most of
the cadets and leave a footprint inside the bat-
talion.
Defining Moments
Lions club district queen
Public speaking, pretentious looks, and being the center of
attention have never been in the top of my list in favorite things to
do.
Lions Club Queen is a full-time job, thus full attendance is the
first responsibility of the titleholder. Traveling to different areas
around the district to perform charity work, speak for awareness oc-
casions, and even crown other clubs titleholders. The activities men-
tioned in the latter sentence are truly tedious, and they obviously re-
quire good standing and time. Require to act accordingly, respect the new atmosphere, ap-
preciate the culture, and know basic greetings, traditions of each club she visits.
The name and title of Lions Club Queen was established in all Latin America for young
women to represent the youth and beauty of each
Lions Club. Even though the Organization is a
worldwide service club, the statutes of having a
queen has become famous and common in Latin
America. Being the queen of a club is more than
just having a pretty face, since it is not required,
but is a huge responsibility.
During the summer of 2016, after my mother
being a member of the Lions Club in my hometown
Tijuana, BC, there was the open spot of becoming
the queen of the club. Our club had Diana as the
queen after begging her to become it. Reigning
from January 2016, Diana had given the club a bad
aspect, from not completing her duties or to attending events and clearly leaving before the
respectful time. June 2016 had come closer and the change of the board was coming since a
Lion year goes from July to July.
When the time of choosing a new queen had come, Diana refused to let the crown and
wanted to be queen for a full year and make me wait until January 2017 to reign. But, the club
members disagreed and voted to replace her with me when the change to board occurred.
Yes, there was drama and many unanswered questions. I felt the doubts on people of me be-
ing queen and wondered if I was going to be able to represent the club and do great things
while the reign. I had a new purpose of prove every
single individual wrong.
This reign year has been full of adventures
and experiences. Having the opportunity
to Attending to every single cabinet meeting
(District Level), District Convention, and every sin-
gle club community service. Allowing me to do
things I wouldve never taught before and shaping
me into a different person. Even though, I still get
nervous when I public speak, I have learned a lot
in the aspect to acting in front of others. One of
the biggest defining moments in my life to change
me during my senior year of high school.
Defining Moments
I will not get myself into trouble or be like them, I want be different. Those
were my thoughts during my childhood; I wanted to prove to my family that
it is possible to succeed without getting into trouble with the law. I grew up
surrounded by drugs, crime, and a family that was always under the eyes of
the law. But, my inspiration to experience success and be the first in my
family to graduate high school wasnt enough
because I didnt have the support I needed. I
then felt that the American dream was gone
for me and I had all the barriers right in front
of my face.
Success in school was always easy for me, I
never had trouble learning and applying my
skills in school. I always thought that what
was easy for me should be easy for everyone
else. I never thought of how important school or involvement in my community would make
a change in life. Being a volunteer and getting good grades were just a simple ways of
spending my time that brought joy into my life. Failure in school was uncommon and other
students admired me for my hard work, maturity, and responsibility. Yet, I needed an inspira-
tion outside of school and even my own house.
A moment that transformed me was when I was a 16 year old, high school student,
who felt the pressures of living in my family who was struggling financially to get by. I had
decided to sacrifice everything, from my education to my liberty. Sacrificing more than what
I had fought for and knowing that I was already done with myself. I soon felt that in the eyes
of the society I was already done with life after making one major mistake and I had no other
option than to live with my action. It became impossible for me to believe that I could be dif-
ferent; I was the joke in my family even though I was trying to help our situation. Failure,
through this impulsive action had gotten to me in such an early moment in life that all I want-
ed was to give up. I wanted to leave everything behind and move on in life as everyone else
in my family did. I felt that becoming a professional was certainly impossible and I would
end up cleaning the bathrooms of those working in such beautiful offices. I had a secret that
made me feel like a fraud to my family members, teachers, and counselors. I had sacrificed
my liberty and clean record to financially help my family; motivated with the idea that my
family would be better and no one could tell me otherwise.
As I entered the first office of what was to become to my nightmare, I encountered of-
ficers who laughed at me and treated me like I was not worthy of this country. For them, I
was already a lost case, who they believed they would have to deal with again. I began to
think about my family and how I had gotten myself into such a deep hole that I wouldnt be
able to get out of. However, in the back of my mind I had a little hope on becoming better. I
had many points on my side; I was a strange case. I knew at this point that education wasnt
going to save me from my own problems and that it would be up to me to overcome this fail-
ure.
Suffering and motivation helped me through this hard moment. I spent a full year
searching for opportunities to accomplish and aspiring for greatness was now something
more than just a funny thought in the back of my mind. In one hard year, I grew from my fail-
ure into a different person. At this point, everything mattered and I felt my puzzle was
solved. My views in life, my grades, my accomplishments, and holding high leading posi-
tions were now important. I chose to write my future differently; I learned that failure, people
bringing you down, and being laughed at were simple obstacles that you need to combat.
CRITICAL CHOICES
My perseverance and desire to become a professional Civil Engineer
was sparked a few years ago and has multiple origins. Arising from various
aspects of my schooling, friends involvement in engineering and also from
my appreciation of those working close to my school to remodel my city.
When I entered high school and learned about the academy of GEOTECH, en-
gineering was one of the few professions and work study that instantly at-
tracted my attention and I knew I wanted to study for the rest of my high
school career. The first draw card for me was that engineering encompasses
the subjects I enjoy studying and succeed in at school.
As being a first generation student, graduating high school and attend-
ing a 4-year university in my family, there is a lot I want to accomplish. Aca-
demically, I will attend the University of California, Davis during the fall of
2017 to begin my journey to success. I plan to become an Urban Planner with
a Masters degree in Civil Engineering. Graduating from UC Davis with a
Bachelors Degree and later on transferring to Stanford University or UC
Berkeley for my Masters. The love I have for buildings
and different structures has lead me to decide for this
major. Knowing that so much thought was put into
something makes me want to do the same thing. I want
to benefit my city and be part of different projects.
The desire in Civil Engineering has grown inside
me since I have the opportunity to take the course of PLTW Civil Engi-
neering and Architecture as a senior and high school. Being able to
explore my intended major has brought more happiness into me.
Pursuing a career that allows me to continue these loves in a real
world situation seems like the most natural progression for me from
my secondary study. I have always had a passion and a talent for math
and from that my love for physics stemmed. In math, I enjoy working with figures and phys-
ics has provided me with the practical application of this subject. Furthermore, I also enjoy
problem solving as it forces me to think outside the box while still working with concrete
facts and figures. I see engineering as the perfect extension of these loves in which I could
further develop them and apply them to real world situations, which benefits the wider com-
munity. Throughout my years at high school I have thrived in an environment where I am
challenged every day. It is in my nature to push myself, in both my academic and extracurric-
ular pursuits. I am very much aware of the challenges studying engineering presents and
this too is one of the reasons I wish to pursue engineering. It has been well ingrained in me
that success comes from determination and hard work. I want to do my very best in a degree
and a career, which will constantly expand my knowledge and challenge me to engage my
brain at every turn. As a female, I also see a challenge in breaking the typical male stereo-
type surrounding engineering, which further fuels my passion for this field of study. Further-
more, only men around me have been involved in engineering and again this pushes me fur-
ther as I see no reason why a woman cannot succeed in the same career. Being able to see
this in my Engineering courses at San Diego High, where there is only four females present
in the classroom. Finally, in addition to wanting to pursue a career that is challenging both
mentally and otherwise, I want to study towards a career that benefits the community. As a
member of various service clubs and living surrounded by hopeless people, I have become
very much aware of the importance of engineers, both for the structural redevelopment of
Downtown San Diego but also for the wellbeing of those in the city and the rest of the world.
CRITICAL CHOICES
Freshman year was a rollercoaster, at times I felt that I
was up and then I was down. From having my father being de-
ported back to Mexico to deciding for my education. As I started
high school my world was already upside down. I had three
choices and none of them were good. Number one, go back to
Mexico and finish my education there. Number two, go live with
my aunt. Number three and the worst one, go live with
my stepmother and her family.
Choosing was hard, yet I went for the worst
one. Where I lived one whole year with a family where
I didnt feel loved or taken into importance. However, I
knew my education was more important.
I attended three different high schools during
the first three months of my freshman year. By the
time I was given the last option I was giving up. All I
wanted was to attend school, get good grades,
and graduate to prove my family wrong. Lead-
ing me to start hating life.
I remember as a kid I grew up dreaming. I would dream of going to college, dream of
owning my own house, or dream of owning my own car. For a very long time I was mad at
life. I would get mad at life because my parents couldn't find a way to give me an education
for me to accomplish all I ever wanted. I had to settle for small apartments, for rooms shared
with others, for hand downs from the family I was living with.
I was mad at life. I remember growing up during my freshman
year I would sign my own report cards, report cards that con-
sisted of straight A's, because every time I would show my
parents my report card they would immediately apologize be-
cause they couldn't afford to buy me anything or to reward
me. My parents werent able to attend to ceremonies or my
soccer games. And I would get mad, I would get mad be-
cause I couldn't have the things I wanted. I felt that life was
punishing me and that I didn't deserve this.
Luckily, I came to understand that life gave me this
amazing gift. The gift of being daughter of undocumented
parents, of being underprivileged, of not having a lot. I came
to realize that my upbringing has helped me learn how to val-
ue everything I am given. I know that everything has its time and place. My freshman year
was the time to focus in school and continue my education. If I wanted to have everything I
never, I had then to work my butt off for it. So, I still may not have the best shoes, the best
house, or don't have a lot, it's fine, because one day when my education pays off and have
more than I ever wanted, I know I will recognize it and value that moment more than ever. I
think that's the beauty of growing up with not much, you value stuff more because you never
had it.
Always remembering, that in order to have things or to accomplish things we must
sacrifice a lot. I sacrificed one year of high school in hell but will live much more to enjoy
what life has to give me.
Influential person
Life has surrounded me with many type of people, from
those who had a negative impact to others who influential me in
a positive way. There has been people who automatically make
a change and demonstrate it, these are the people I want to keep forever.
Deborah J Braun, the CEO/Nonprofit Specialist at Exceptional Solutions has been
around in my life for only three years yet helped
me a lot. Deborah is outstanding when it comes
to helping the community as also being part of
Lions Clubs International - District 4-L6 in San
Diego Executive Lions Club and serve as Cabi-
net Recording Secretary 2016-2017, Cabinet
Secretary Elect 2017-2018, District Public Rela-
tions & Lions Information Chairperson 2016-
2018 and District Veterans Awareness & Activi-
ties Committee. Deborah always does the pos-
sible to help others no matter what it takes, and
participates in the Special Needs Resource
Foundation of San Diego (Charity of Choice).

There is a lot more into why Deborah in-

spires me to one day become like her. First, she has helped the most when it comes to situa-
tions where my parents arent able to attend, taking her precious time and spending it with
me. Deborah has become someone I can clearly rely on when I need something. From long
car rides, to her attending one of my ceremonies, or writing a huge letter of recommenda-
tion.

Deborah has inspired me to continue my education and pursue a career in any kind.
She has taught me that it is always important to love your job and what you do. Spend your
time in things you like. We have the best thing in common, as she likes serving the commu-
nity as much as I do.

Being my most influential person in my life since she has shown me how making
small gains each day will eventually lead to huge progress and that I need to believe in my-
self even when I dont feel like it. She has also taught me how important it is to be patient
with others and to always encourage them to live up to their potential. Motivate others how I
want to be motivated. The things that I admire the most and have tried to apply to my own
life are a strong work ethic, unwavering honesty and a love to others.

Deborah is responsible, caring, honest, and hard working person who deserves a lot
of love in this world. I know I will face many new challenges in college, but I also know that if
I apply the lessons from my mentor, I will be able to overcome any obstacle. Whenever
things get really tough, Ill just repeat her words, Its not about
failing but about rising back up every time we fall. There is one
last lesson that I have learned from my mother: time makes every-
thing better. Even when I have what seems like the worst experi-
ence and things are falling apart, I know if I take it one day at a
time, things always get better. I know that Deborah will always be
there for me whenever I pick up the phone and call her.
 FINAL WORDS

I come from nothing. Throughout my life I was always faced

with difficult challenges that I had to overcome. My parents, being
undocumented, work tirelessly to give me
all they could. But at times, it was up to me
to work for things. For instance, my par-
ents didn't have the academic capabilities
to help me in school. It was always up to
me to figure out a loophole to understand
a subject or to ace a test. To be honest, all
the odds were not in my favor. I did not know how to speak English,
my parents did not know how to speak English, my parents couldn't help me with my school
work, and my parents' financial status made things hard. We would constantly move from
house to house because my parents couldn't afford rent, hence I will transfer elementary/
grammar schools every few years. At times my parents would stress about figuring out how
we will afford food and other necessities. At times our
gas or electricity will be cut because we were late on pay-
ments. School was already hard and knowing my par-
ents' financial situation made things harder. But, I knew
that the only way to help my parents was to work hard in
school. I am not writing this to be labeled as a "rags-to-
riches" story, because I don't want that. Instead, I want to
show people that are in the same situation as me, that's
it's possible. Nothing can hold you back, you decide how
far you get. It doesn't matter if you go to one of the worst schools in San Diego or if you live
in one of the worst neighborhoods, you have to make the
most out of your situation. Socioeconomic status, race,
gender, and other factors will never determine one's suc-
cess. I come from nothing, and I'm proud to say that this
Fall I will be attending college with no student debt on my
back and will make the impossible to become the best of
me and set the example.

Abril Perez Torres

Class of 2017