What kind of volunteer activities are you involved in?
Currently, I’m in KYCC BRIDGE, which is a weekly thing. I’m also in the food bank at a church near Koreatown, and I go there every Saturday morning to help out. Something that inspired me to start volunteering was my school. People from KYCC came to my school, and after school, they gave out flyers, and their flyers spoke to me. I wanted to do something for myself and to help my community. 

How do you balance your academic commitments with your volunteer activities?
I balance my school life and my volunteering in the community by doing my work at school and trying my best to finish it at school. I volunteer on days when I won’t have a lot of work or on the days that I get out early. A challenge I faced recently was balancing my school and personal life because I had many other commitments outside of school, like volunteering. It was frustrating not to be able to go to every single class or program where there were volunteering opportunities.

Are there any specific causes or organizations you're particularly passionate about supporting?
As of now, I'm passionate about supporting KYCC because I think it is a great place. I volunteer at KYCC BRIDGE. I'm someone that small children look up to. I have to look professional and be aware of my language. I’m basically trying to do my best so they won’t be disappointed in me. 

Do you see any connections between your volunteer work and future career goals?
There are no connections, but I enjoy volunteering. For my dream career, I want to be a surgeon, which doesn’t correlate, but I guess I get the experience of communicating with others. 

What are your long-term goals? What steps are you taking to achieve them?
My long-term goals are graduating from high school and applying to study at a four-year university — that’s one of my biggest goals as of now. 

Do you think you'll have any challenges when applying to college?
One challenge I’ll face when applying to college is that I didn't do enough — I didn't really participate in many programs throughout the years, and I’m doing it very last minute. I wish I could have done them before, but then again, the pandemic [was happening], so there weren't many things I could have done. 

What are your thoughts on the role of the government?
They should improve more — more women should be in Congress and stuff like that. Although we might seem like a very good country, there are some things that we should definitely work on and be influenced by in other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. 

What are some challenges that you see the United States facing?
Homelessness is a huge challenge. My school has moved to different locations, and it's very dangerous for minors to walk around because it's just very unsanitary and dangerous overall. 

What's your perspective on the legalization of recreational drugs?
My perspective on the legalization of recreational drugs is that they should be very strict on it because it could just get out there without any prescription and potentially lead to many other effects. 

Can you tell me about your cultural background and heritage?
My cultural background is inspired by my hometown, but my heritage is Mexican, which has a large population in Koreatown. I live with a strong sense of culture.

What are some traditional customs or practices that are important in your culture?
An important custom in my culture is the Day of the Dead because we get to celebrate our ancestors and how they lived before and after their deaths. 

What's a traditional dish from your culture that you enjoy or recommend?
I recommend trying pozole. It might sound generic, but it’s really good. 

Have you encountered any stereotypes about your culture?
Yes, I’ve encountered many stereotypes, especially in public education. I've kind of been scared to go out as well, but I'll manage to somehow get over it. I adjust to those challenges by focusing on myself and not what others say; it doesn’t matter [what they say] because they have nothing better to say, so they’re just wasting their time. A challenge I face is not being able to participate in programs because of my culture. 

Have you traveled to your country of origin or explored other cultures?
I have not traveled to my country of origin, but I would like to go there. I think [if I went], it would impact me in a very positive way because I would get to experience and see how they live versus how we live here. We have a good life and are happy in our ways here, but I think their values are different, and they’re happy in their own way as well. 

Are there any aspects of your culture that you are particularly proud of?
We are a very strong community. We tend always to be happy and cheerful, and we communicate with each other — it doesn’t matter if we are family or not. 

How do you think your culture contributes to the diversity of your community?
People from my culture open their little shops here and display [their products and/or services] to outside people, not just people who live here. People come here just to see their products. Some advice that I would give to people who want to know more about my culture is to explore their little shops.