Bethel Alask Intertextual Analysis

Last May, I traveled with Alternative Breaks to New York for community service. During this service, I worked with Meals on Wheels who dedicate their time to provide food for the elderly of Manhattan. As I delivered the food to the seniors, I got a sense of fulfillment because I made them smile by providing them with food. Thus, I chose MDC’s Single Stop because I wanted to make a difference in my home campus by providing and assuring nourishment to those that do not have it just like I did in New York. As my first two years of college comes to an end, I wanted to leave a mark of my own here at home at Miami Dade College North Campus. During the month of September, I decided to partner up with a few of my peers to serve at MDC’s Single Stop.

The small Alaskan mountain town of Girdwood is located in an area known for its pristine peaks, cyrstal clear glaciers, expansive woodlands, and pristine snow. The town of Girdwood has earned a reputation for its unredfined beuaty and is home to a number of resorts. However, for many this small community built amid the peaks of the Chugach Moutnain Range is more than a resort town. For the residents of Girdwood, the area is their own personal paradise, compelete with a grandioise sense of nature's possibilities and the best back yard one could imaigine.

Waking up to discover the immense, pristine wilderness of Alaska, listening to the birds chirping their sounds while feeling the tremble of your heart beating through your veins. Trees as far as one can see with rolling hills and distant peaks covered with unblemished snow. The sounds of streams growing larger until they rush over a fall, and into an untainted lake. Pondering the true meaning of life while observing Mother Nature’s true grace. Very few people can relate to this scene of the wild. One of them being Christopher Johnson McCandless, a young pioneer and traveler, who was determined to seek the truth no matter what the cost.

Over the past two years (2014-2016) I have participated in the National Junior Honors Society. As a member, I commit to completing community service and to learning among my peers in order to develop into a superior leader. I have taken part in activities such as fundraisers, team building activities, and several forms of community services such as working in a soup kitchen, daycares and organizing social events. Recently, I volunteered for a week as a vendor at a temple in Tacoma, raising money for the establishment during the Cambodian New Year festival.

Times Square in New York City, Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., and Denali National Park in George Parks, Alaska. The moments I spent in these places are characterized by my ability to roam for hours and just explore. Whether it be meeting street artists who are creating caricatures of tourists, running into John Kerry, finding grizzly bears in their natural habitat, these moments weren’t just mundane hours; they ushered in the notion of mindfulness. Every instant during these trips, I thought of living in the moment and not dwell on the past or the future. The unknown experiences that awaited me as the day progressed in these places correlate my ability to finally embrace one idea:

My first memory that I have of Hotchkiss was the day that I was enrolled in kindergarden. It was the first time that I had seen the town since we had moved here from Texas. To a kid who had never seen anything other than endless acres of shrubs and mesquite trees, the towering mountains and greenery blew me away. For months I would spend all of my time after school exploring where I lived and biking around town with my friends. As the years have gone by this tiny town has still kept that certain magic that enthralled me as a kid, if only in a more reminiscent way rather than just pure wonder. However, the most important part of Hotchkiss to me is the effect that it had on who I am. From the day that I became a part of this lovely town, I have learned three major values that have played a key role in the decisions I’ve made. These values were hard work, community, and pride.

Austin Community College (ACC) has many campuses located around Austin, Texas. Highland campus is one of the newest campus located at Highland Mall and was officially opened on 2014 fall semester. This campus is also one of ACC’s largest campuses, with capacity to serve 6000 students in its first phase. The Highland Campus is located near the north junction of Interstate 35 and Highway 290. The location provides convenient and unparalleled rail and bus access as well as ample parking for students, employees, and visitors. As a student of ACC Highland Campus, I have toured the whole campus more than a dozen times. There are only two floors but each floor has its uniqueness. The two floors are connected by stairs and elevators. One of the highlights

The summer before high school, I decided it was time to get involved in the community. A close family friend who attended my church offered a volunteer position with her organization called Clothes to You that supplies low-income families with free attire. The non-profit organization resonated closely with me as my tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, suffers from severe financial hardships, and realizing how life changing an organization such as this could be I promptly accepted her offer. On designated days we drove the mobile van to predetermined locations and transformed the desolate parking lot to a bustling shopping center. People of all ages filled the aisles and I assisted shoppers searching for outfits as varied as interview

When I crossed by the snow covered sign that read “Welcome to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness National Park” and looked at what surrounded me, I was beside myself. I didn’t know that trees could ever be so beautiful. The towering trees were the perfect shade of dark emerald green, and the way the snow piled on them looked like painting. I thought I was living a fairytale. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on.

Over the course of high school, I have engaged in my community in various ways. For one, I have donated my time volunteering for health-related organizations that promote good causes, such as the “Heart Walk” for the American Heart Association and the Alzheimer's Walk. Over the summer of 2017, I assisted nurses in maternal fetal medicine with clerical work through the VolunTeen program

However, I knew I was here to make a difference, so I flourished in service. My “Service and Leadership” Residential Learning Community, have been volunteering with Scholars with Diverse Abilities, March of Dimes, and OASIS. These three organization taught me the definition of serving all mankind. Spending time with people from all different walks of life, has taught me: that you will meet people along the way who will have different beliefs than me, but you must respect them, because that is what makes us all unique. I learned that when I am committed to something I will go to any length to reach my goal. Service takes up much of my time, but, I still make time for study hall and tutoring. I ended up making the Dean’s list my first

One way I served the community through the National Honor Society program this year is when our chapter held the Veteran’s Day Program in my school’s auditorium. The first way helped out was to hand out programs to everyone who came in the door. While greeting many veterans, it felt good to shake their hand and welcome them inside. Thanking them for their service seemed minuscule compared to how they should be treated everyday for serving our country. After welcoming everyone inside, we began the program. We had several speakers come to the podium and say kind words to our Veterans. Eventually it was my turn to speak. While I read to the crowd, I looked up to see several Veterans with a smile on their face. They felt delighted to have young

My grandparents have two small wooden cabins there that they bought back in the eighties. It was meant to be a special family place where we could all meet. Although it was a four hour flight and an eight hour drive away, my parents, brothers, and I went up every summer for a week up to a month. The smells of my grandmother’s homemade delicacies and the feeling of the gravel on the car tires as we drove up the unpaved road left memories that take me back to that place. Picking blackberries from some wild bushes near the cabin and sitting on my Grandfather’s lap as we would look out from the porch into the thick forest enveloping the land around us, are just some of the memories I hold near and dear. One visit, a bear crept onto my grandparents’ porch on a rather rainy day. I watched from inside, staring into the eyes of the black beauty, drenched from ear to paw, just a few feet and a wall away. As I read Thoreau, these fond memories of my time away from the rest of the world come rushing back to me. His fascination with a world towards which, we have made ourselves outsiders, intrigues me as well. His yearning to know a place that has no way of ever being entirely known, is familiar to

So being a National Honor Society student, the last couple of years I’ve loved finishing ways I can help my community. I’ve always loved doing little things to help someone who needs it Community service to me, is more than just holding the door open for someone, picking up trash, or helping someone with their groceries. I want to help people grow and be a better person while serving my community. I’m glad I do more than volunteer, I try to impact the lives of people and I feel that is what I have

As a student, I have demonstrated many works of service to my community and school. Service opportunities have shaped me into the person I am today and these projects have made me realize how fortunate I am for all that I have. While I've been doing these service projects through the years, it has been a pleasure seeing the joy on the faces of people that aren't as fortunate as I am. Service projects that I have completed include managing the fish booth at the St. Leo's Parish Festival, being an altar server at St. Leo's Parish, helping cook dinner for the Ridgway Fire Department during carnival day setup, participating in the St. Marys Light Up Night by dancing, and Christmas caroling to local residents. I also participated in a zombie/princess