Oriana
11th Grade at Kearny SCT
Class of 2019
Why did you join the YAC? What’s been your best experience thus far?
I joined YAC because I want to advocate to make my community a safer and healthier place to live. I also wanted to join YAC because I wanted to gain contacts with amazing people and have a new experience. One of my best experiences with YAC is deciding what the goals of the program would be this year. This is one of my best experiences thus far because everyone in the program shared what they believe could be a goal to work towards to and I thought it was amazing how everyone respected each other’s opinions.
How has your participation in the YAC helped you develop as an individual?
My participation has helped me as an individual by becoming more aware of the issues in my community and what could be done to convince lawmakers to make a change in our communities. The YAC has definitely given me a place where I know that I can share my ideas and opinions and they will be respected. Also thanks to the YAC, I have been more encouraged to speak up about issues in our environment that are affecting us negatively.
What’s your dream job?
My dream job is to work in medicine. I feel like you can impact so many people in a positive way with just one person. I specifically want to become a medical examiner because I believe that even though my patients will be deceased, I know that I will still be making an impact on the loved ones of the patient by letting them know how the patient passed away.
What’s a quote that motivates you?
One quote that has motivated me since 9th grade and continues to motivate me is that if you want change then be the person who makes the change. Another quote that has also motivated me for a long time is “The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has its eyes closed and a visionary has its eyes open.”
