Uniting, Nurturing, Initiating Foundations in America ( UNIFiAmerica / AmalgaNation )

In the summer of 2009, I decided to culminate my entire high school experience of volunteer work and do something much more focused and meaningful to me. I founded Uniting, Nurturing, Initiating Foundations in Durham (UNIFiD). I saw a need for outreach in our community to the marginalized populations. UNIFiD is a way to revitalize pride in our community. It is an organization coordinated by students and for students to address issues that face underprivileged youth in education with the dedication to increasing their success both in and out of the classroom. This component of our program includes: a mentoring and tutoring aspect where Durham area elementary and middle school students are paired up with North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics (NCSSM) juniors and seniors for tutoring in STEM (science/technology/engineering/mathematics), life-skills enrichment workshops, and various student-designed volunteer activities. With the help of my founding partner and friend, Christian, we launched our program with a food drive. We collected nonperishable items to be donated to a local area food bank, designated for orphans, homeless, and needy children. I was once without a home for over a year after my family suffered from a terrible house fire. My experience was not the worst, but it was definitely not the best. I grew a lot from that hardship and learned to do what I can, when I can and to not let an opportunity pass me by. I hope that UNIFiD will be a lasting legacy at NCSSM. I plan to expand this as UNIFiAmerica/AmalgaNation at Columbia while Christian does so at Princeton. Ultimately, we envision that it will become a non-profit organization run by several NCSSM alumni at various schools at least along the east coast. Giving children the chance to succeed, despite their circumstances, is one of the best feelings in the world for me. I make it known to the kids that it is possible to attend a school like NCSSM so that they have something greater than themselves to anticipate. Our achievement provided over 30 boxes of food to children in need throughout central North Carolina. Those children were able to go to school without an empty stomach and can look forward to a warm plate when they return—food is an important part of the equation when examining in-class participation. I have started a movement within my school that shows that it is possible for the young to help the young. We do not have to wait until we are older or richer to do something, when we are perfectly capable of doing so right now.