Ever since I was a kid, I’ve lived in environments that greatly advocated giving back to the community and thus I’ve been raised to believe that it’s an important and necessary part of one’s life to use one’s privileges to help those in need. The very town I lived in was built by a private company that collects oil and natural gas in the area. Not only did this company provide very decently paying jobs for all the inhabitants, but also generously gave out extended and fully paid vacations, provided full medical coverage and built free houses, schools and kindergartens.
Thanks to this company, my town was a place where no hard worker was left out and everyone in need was given help. This company’s involvement in my town’s life, along with the values my parents have taught me, showed me how important it is to use the privileges one was lucky to receive with those who were not. I practiced this notion of giving back to the community in High School by, along with two other students, reinstating and successfully running the Key Club that was once abandoned in our school. In addition I did some other community work outside of school such as APICHA (Asian-Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV and AIDS) and intend to do more now that I am in college. I already joined the student government and am planning to get involved in other projects in the near future to better serve the community.