http://www.arlingtontx.gov/articles/2010/articles_0410_04.html
CITY OF ARLINGTON NEWS RELEASE
April 15, 2010
Arlington Youth: What Will You Be Doing on Saturday, April 24?
Richard Greene Scholar Leads a Service Project from Sam Houston
On Twitter and Facebook, students are connecting with one another. Global Youth Service Day is the largest youth service event in the world and locally it’s becoming the talk of the town.
“Facebook is one of the coolest ways to communicate and organize,” said Catherine Sims, who is leading one of the biggest Global Youth Service projects from Sam Houston High School. Her coalition of student groups is collecting items for victory boxes to be shipped to Afghanistan and Iraq.
They are collecting everything from school supplies and hygiene products to clothes and shoes. On Global Youth Service Day, they will assemble and pack victory boxes and ship to troops who will distribute among men, women and children in need. Their service project will begin at 9 a.m. in the cafeteria at Sam Houston High School at 2000 Sam Houston Drive.
“We’d like to send more than 100 victory boxes so that we really make a big difference,” said Sims, who is also a Richard Greene Scholar on her way to college to study political science followed by law school.
On Saturday, April 24, more than 3,000 youth in Arlington will join Sims to perform community service projects of their own. Many of the projects involve painting and neighborhood beautification.
Being chosen a Richard Greene Scholar has been such a blessing and has really made my senior year at Sam Houston High School better than I could have ever imagined. I spend most of my time outside of studies doing one of two things: playing the trombone or doing community service.
I grew up in Arlington and at a young age my mother taught me how invaluable material things are. My philosophy of life is that the incessant chase after material things is an exercise in futility. There are thousands of people living in Arlington who need assistance and my mother showed this to me when I was very young. Every year at Christmas time, she would take me to Mission Arlington to donate my toys. She insisted that I personally deliver them to other children. As a young child, I didn’t fully understand what she was trying to teach me but now I am overwhelmed with joy at the thought of my mother’s wisdom.
She passed away in 2002 when I was nine years old leaving me behind with a passion for service and a desire to help those in need. It’s not just a one time project but it is a way of life. On a daily basis, my mother did all she could to help others when often times she was in need of help herself. My life from June 9, 1992 up until this very moment can be summed up in one word: motivation.
“True motivation comes from within – from the willingness to see a dream fulfilled – from the desire to leave the world a better place than you found it,” Steve Brunkhorst. This quote is my vision statement. I am currently a volunteer for River Legacy, Mission Arlington, and a HOPE tutor. As vice president of Key Club, I spend a lot of time planning service projects for our organization. We participated in Operation Christmas Child and helped distribute gifts for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree. Since then, as a group we have volunteered at two CHIP/Medicaid events where we helped parents sign their children up for Medicaid. We’ve also tutored at the Boys and Girls’ Club.
Aside from community service, I play the trombone which is my bliss. It gives me a natural high and I wish everyone could experience this indescribable feeling. It’s exhilarating and I wish everyone got the chance to experience it. I will not pursue music in college, but I will continue to play the trombone. Music will always have a special place in my heart.
Hopefully, in the future, I can play in a symphony outside of my day job. I plan on majoring in political science, going to law school, and working in the field of politics. I am not sure if I will seek elected office or if I will seek a career in public management. I look forward to the journey I am about to embark on to find the place where I can serve to the best of my abilities.