Biography

I was born in Raton, New Mexico. I live in the foothills of the Rockies in the Northeastern corner of New Mexico. My community is very rural, and everyone is known on a first name basis. The community pulls together through tough times. Just recently we received a huge snow storm. Many people were snowed in for up to a week. My neighbors, who live a mile down the road, had a tractor and cleared a path for us to get to town for food and supplies. Acts of kindness like this have inspired me to help others.

I have been volunteering for several years now. In elementary I became involved in a program called Trek for Trash. We would pick up trash along the highway in five mile sections. We also maintained the local rest areas. My two younger sisters are both involved in rodeo with many children from this area. Every summer I open gates, announce names, hand out ribbons and keep records for the Sierra Grande Horse Association. It takes many volunteers to run a rodeo, but it is very much worth it. I love seeing the excitement the kids get when they ride their horses and compete and I'm very glad to help them do that.

I am very involved with my school. I play volleyball, basketball, and I'm a cheerleader. I help set up sound equipment and concessions before every game, and I stay to help clean. I'm a member of Peer Helpers. As a Peer Helper, I volunteer time to inform students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. I also read to the elementary students. In my shop class I helped to build new shelves for the high school and elementary library. The old shelves were very damaged, but our school couldn't afford new shelves. All the shop classes rallied togther to build new shelving.

I take pride in volunteering and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. In four years I have contributed 523 volunteer hours to my community. Volunteering has become a huge part of my life. I can only hope that I have inspired someone to volunteer and contribute to society. Our world would become a better place if people could give something back to the community. Helping my community is important to me and I thoroughly enjoy it!