Youth Unsung Hero Anisha of Irving CA
When people think of Irvine or Orange County, well-kept houses and beaches come to mind. What people don’t see is that there are many people who are refugees from countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan who have recently moved to Irvine and are barely keeping up with grocery bills. To ask those students and families to pitch in for Science Olympiad bills for materials and participation in Invitationals is not an option. So those students are often times unable to participate because the public schools have very limited funds for clubs like this. This creates a barrier to entry and an economic disparity, a divide between the “Haves and Have nots”.
So, Anisha decided to step up and break that cycle of inequality and raise funds by organizing and conducting summer science camps. She created a curriculum with easy to understand and fun scientific experiments relating to Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology and Medicine, including some hands-on activities to spark interest in young kids. Then rallied up her teammates to volunteer and enlisted some adults for supervision, raising funds for her high school team mates to be able to participate in Science Olympiad for the upcoming year. As a result, no student will be left behind for the lack of funding!
To accomplish this,Anisha considered various mediums to advertise the camps in local communities. She has also created folders and templates for others to replicate if they so choose, and if needed host science themed birthday parties. She overcame many hurdles along the way improvising and pivoting to still make the camps happen, serving about 15-20 kids at each camp. At a young age of 16, for her to be able to see a problem, come up with a solution and a plan to execute it all by herself and then gather a team of 10-12 volunteers is commendable.
Anisha is a 12-year participant with Girls Scouts of Orange County and has earned her Gold Award, she is a staunch believer in not only Girl empowerment but also a world where everyone has equal opportunities. She was recognized by the Girls scouts of Orange County for her work as the agent of change for her pioneering role in peer-to-peer counseling for teen mental health in 2021. In 2018 she became the youngest volunteer to tutor at El Sol academy in Santa Ana, an underserved charter school in Orange County. She has volunteered hundreds of hours and currently serves as a Junior Volunteer coordinator at Orange County Global Medical Center, a regional trauma center, also serving underserved population. She routinely chairs the Skilz event, a weekend long annual outdoor skills training event for Girl Scouts alongside other girl and adult volunteers. She also represents the state of California, on the National Hope Squad, a group involved in mental health care. Despite such solid care for her community, she has been able to keep up regular schoolwork load and maintains a 4.97 GPA and is a scholar athlete.
Well Done, Anisha.
Nominated by Laura