Progress Report #1:

The issue that I chose to dedicate my CAS project to is education. I am targeting children of lower

socioeconomic backgrounds due to the fact that many aspects of their lives make it very difficult to strive for

success academically. This issue is really important to me because I believe that knowledge is the greatest

thing that people have to offer one another. When I was younger, I attended schools that were academically

successful and never thought anything of it. To this day, I have failed to realize the extent to which I have

taken advantage of the education that I have and am being given. For that reason, I want to give back what I

have had the privilege of being given. I want to make an impact on childrens lives and help them reach their

academic potential. Many children are unable to advance in their education due to the fact that they lack the

learning environment, resources, or support to do so. I dont believe that their education should be

constrained to the limitations of any aspect of their lives, especially socioeconomic standing. For that reason, I

knew I wanted to target the major issue of education. I hope that through the experiences that will come with

completing this project I grow to understand the true value of role models. I hope to motivate the children

and aid them in their pursuit of a great future. I also want to become more humble and selfless in my actions

because I will come to understand the great privilege I have that many others do not. Due to the expanse of

the task, I want to work with another group member who expresses the same level of passion for this area. I

hope that together, we make an impact on the lives of many children and change the way they approach their

education. It is for this reason that I have chosen to work with my fellow peer Maya. She is also very

passionate about this issue and i know that together we will make great contributions to the community.

Together we have already established a title for our project, Operation Inspire. We are hoping to reach out to

organizations within our community that share our aims and partner up with them to expand our impact.

While it may seem ideal, we have also set goals for our project that we hope to accomplish by the end. This

includes: providing a free tutoring service to students who require it, painting an inspirational mural in a

local shelter, and volunteering at a local free drop-in center in order to provide our help wherever it's needed

and however we can.

So far in my CAS project I have continued tutoring with school on wheels and am currently waiting to

be partnered up with a student. My time with School on Wheels has proven to be extremely rewarding as I

have been able to help students in advancing their understanding of essential school subjects. One of my

students in particular, has improved drastically since we began tutoring sessions. Working with these

students has taught me the need for patience and understanding as many of them struggle with content due

to the many setbacks they have faced. With this in mind, I have evolved as a student to become more

empathetic towards the hardships that other students may face and that may have hindered their academic

success. This has made me a far more humble student in terms of broadcasting my successes. Overall i have

become a more considerate individual as I have come to acknowledge to a greater extent the different

circumstances each child has been brought up in.

Over the summer I volunteered at Nevada Elementary School as an in-class teacher assistant. I

helped the teacher supervise the students as well helped her pack up and organize her classroom in

preparation for the upcoming summer classes. I also applied to volunteer at CDI Learning Center and have

recently attended an orientation in preparation to begin there. The learning center is a non-profit that aims to

help child development through various activities and play space. My first day volunteering there will be this

Saturday September 3, 2016. I am planning to volunteer there every week for 6 hours a week. This, combined

with the school on wheels tutoring will total up to 7 hours a week dedicated to my CAS project. Maya and I

have also been collaborating with Hope Gardens to determine when our "painting day" will be to paint murals

in one of their rooms of the education wing. We have been collaborating with the art CAS group as well and

have determined how we are going to obtain the paint as well as our plans for the design. We are also

planning to set-up a college information board within the facility. On September 25, I am also going to

volunteer at a block party event that the learning center is hosting to raise awareness and money for their

organization. I will be there to participate in hosting activities as well as help ensure that the event is

successful. Maya and I are hoping to further delve in our involvement with CDI and eventually get her into

orientation for volunteering at the center as well.

In modern day society there is a very significant issue plaguing our nation, the education gap. It is an

issue that affects millions of students. I once believed that each child was provided with equal access to a

proper education. However, it was upon witnessing the distinct differences in environments and resources

amongst academic institutions during this past year, that I have come to recognize this as untrue. In fact, the

education system itself is flawed, giving greater priority to students of higher socioeconomic status at the cost

of other students futures. Studies have shown these socioeconomically disadvantaged students to be at

greater risk for dropping out of school as a result of these circumstances. It is this fact, that ultimately led to

my development of a community service project that aims to address this issue within the LA area

In order to address this achievement gap, I have collaborated with 3 non-profit organizations that

shared similar aims to mine. With the help of these organizations I have been able to address and spread

awareness of the existing issue within my community. For instance, through my participation with School on

Wheels I have been able to provide a service that is at times considered a luxury, tutoring. For the last year, I

have tutored a homeless student each week in order to provide them with help on homework as well as any

other subjects they are struggling in. Along with this, I have worked with the child development institute in

order to assist children in the development of new skills that better prepare them for school and the future.

Lastly, with the help of the organization Hope Gardens I have worked with others in the community to paint

murals in the education wing of a local shelter. It was ultimately through this work with these organizations

that I was enlightened on a personal level as well as motivated to contribute greater to the community. Not

only have I been humbled by working with these children who remain so utterly hopeful despite the many

hardships they have faced, but I have also learned so much from them. These children have taught me what it

truly means to be resilient and open-minded when it comes to facing new challenges. Overall, my experience

with this project has provided me with such a degree of pride, not for myself, but for the accomplishments of

each these children as they overcome barriers and strive for better tomorrows. Ultimately, that is the goal.

For each of these children to pursue success in their futures through school. It is for this reason that I plan to

further my involvement in addressing this problem within my community in college. One day, I hope to

address it on a national level as it is clear through the impact that I was able to have within my own
community, that it is entirely possible to assist in the creation of equal educational opportunities for every

student.