Service
Giving back to my community has been a big part of my undergraduate experience and one of the main attributes I can point to that has grown my character. I believe that serving others is a value everyone should embrace to be a good neighbor, and I am committed to continuing this momentum in my own life and encouraging it in others. Most of my service has been through the Alternative Breaks program at FIU, where I’ve dedicated my summer, winter, and spring breaks to traveling across U.S. states and territories to support communities facing challenges such as food and housing insecurity and environmental instability. Some of these programs also incorporated service learning, allowing us to explore the deeper historical and systemic roots of the issues through educational activities. My passion for service extends beyond these trips; I continue to actively engage in my local Miami community. To date, I have completed a total of 321 service hours.
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Network NOLA: New Orleans, Louisiana
With Alternative Breaks, our group of 6 people stayed in Ward 9 of New Orleans, Louisiana, for 6 days, where we tackled issues such as homelessness and environmentalism with an impact of 120 hours. Here, I was the site leader, which meant that I managed the group of students, facilitated reflections, and managed conflict resolutions. We worked with partners such as SBP, Unity GNO, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and Common Ground Relief. To help protect Louisiana's coast, we worked with nature's natural defense, planted over 50 trees in the bayous, and collected and bagged over 200 nets of oysters to place on the shores to prevent land erosion. To address some social issues of homelessness Louisiana faces, we beautified a permanent housing facility by painting an entire floor top to bottom, and rebuilt homes for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In addition to the service we had provided in the morning, in the afternoon we had completed educational activities such as tours of the city, a plantation, a segregated school, and environmental lectures in order to understand where the current issues stemmed from, how they continue to be perpetuated today, and what we can continue to do to foster improvements in the community.
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Network NOLA: San Juan, Puerto Rico
With Alternative Breaks, our group of five spent six days in San Juan, Puerto Rico, addressing issues such as homelessness and environmental sustainability, contributing 19 hours of service and generating $750 of philanthropic impact. We partnered with organizations including Para la Naturaleza, Coalición Restauración de Ecosistemas Santurcinos (CRES), Techos para mi Gente, and Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico. To support environmental restoration efforts, we cleaned a public park and planted over 200 plants in a nursery. To address homelessness and food insecurity, we sorted and stacked food at a distribution warehouse and helped rebuild homes for those affected by Hurricane Fiona. In the afternoons, we participated in educational activities such as a city art tour, dance lessons, and environmental lectures. These experiences deepened our understanding of the root causes of the challenges faced by local communities and inspired us to explore ways to foster sustainable, long-term improvements.
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Alternative Breaks - Tampa, Florida
With Alternative breaks, our group of 4 people stayed in Tampa for 4 days to give our time and resources to the NPO Mercy Full Project, contributing 80 hours of service and generating $2,740 of philanthropic impact. During this trip, our group helped the non-profit organization that focused on aiding animals in need and caring for animals to be put up for adoption in the local community. Our tasks included taking the dogs on hour-long walks at least once a day, cleaning the dog and cat kennels and cages, cleaning the food bowls, washing and drying towels and toys, cleaning litter boxes, stocking up food products, feeding the animals, and providing personal attention to the animals. The highlight of this trip was interacting with the animals and keeping my hands busy. I enjoy hard work and seeing that directly translate into improving the lives of the animals. We did the best we could to balance work with providing the animals with social interaction and happiness.
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Alternative Breaks - Washington D.C Fly-In
​With Alternative breaks, our group of 8 people traveled to Washington, D.C, for 5 days, where we focused on issues of housing and food insecurity, contributing 96 hours of service and generating $2,283 of philanthropic impact. Here, we worked with a multitude of programs. On the first day, we volunteered at S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat). It was a soup kitchen; however, it was set up more like a restaurant where we helped serve the unhoused D.C population. The next day, we went to the Capital Area Food Bank, where we packaged around 450 boxes at a warehouse that then goes around D.C to those in need. The following day, we provided service to Martha's table, where we packaged over 50 bags of food items that go to families in need. These bags have various healthy food items and recipes to help educate families on healthy food options. On the last day, we went to DC Central Kitchen, where we worked to cook and prepare food that would directly go to those in need, primarily children. It was a pleasure to be in an environment that cares about their neighbors and want to give back to their community. We all enjoyed helping/ working hard and agreed to take these memories and ethics back to Miami to help out our own local community.
This trip, however, was different from other trips I have participated in. After each day, we went to the FIU D.C office; our home away from home. Here, we would hear about other opportunities FIU offers in the capital, such as internships, and hear guest speakers talk about issues pertinent to the local community. One such example included guest speakers from NGOs, think-tanks, and startups who shared how they address housing insecurity and related issues through policy, business, and advocacy on Capitol Hill. This trip has been the catalyst that inspired me to someday create my own NGO and become a stronger advocate for others in my community.
Hope for Miami
For MLK Day of service, I volunteered 3 hours of my time at the Faith Coalition, Hope for Miami. Our role was to pack over 150 backpacks full of school supplies such as pencil pouches, markers, pens, pencils, sharpeners, scissors, crayons, erasers, notebooks, folders, papers, and children's books to families in need. It was rewarding to see the faces of the families and children light up when receiving the backpack, which reinforced my drive to work harder in sorting and distributing the goods. I believe every child deserves access to a quality education, yet many lack the basic tools needed to succeed. For this reason, I want to continue this type of service to my community to help mitigate the effects that socioeconomic status can have on a child's education, and support a more equitable future for all children.
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Feeding South Florida
At the Feeding South Florida warehouse, our role was small but impactful, helping ensure food was safe to distribute to families in need. For 3 hours, I was assigned to sort, categorize items like protein, beverages, and coffee/tea. Though it started slowly, I eventually had to catch up on a backlog, which kept me engaged. The environment was supportive and upbeat, and by the end, our group sorted around 4,000 pounds of food. It was a fulfilling experience that made me feel proud to contribute to my community.