Nicole Canal
Myself Third Spirit of New York 2002 Scholarship Winner
Forest Hills High School
LaGuardia Community College
"Nicole is a joy to teach. She is comfortable in the classroom, taking an active role in class discussion. She voices her ideas and opinions with confidence. Her essays reveal her to be a young woman of intelligence and insight.… She is mature, conscientious, hardworking, enthusiastic and charismatic."
—Lawrence Epstein, Teacher, AP English
Work, Volunteer, and Extra-Curricular Activities
- 21st Century After School Program
- Pierce Day Camp
- Hillcrest Day Camp
Excerpts from Nicole's Essay
Civic responsibility is when people give of themselves to the community. They give their services to help others and to help the community be a better place without expecting anything in return. Civic responsibility is everyone's responsibility.
Since June 2001, I have been working at the 21st Century After School Program in P.S. 50, located in South Jamaica, Queens. The children in this program are "at-risk" of not being promoted to the next grade. The children I work with most of the time are fourth graders. I help them with their reading and math skills. I help them understand and complete their homework assignments.…
Working with these children is the most rewarding thing I have ever done, and it is also a lot of fun. It's a great feeling when I can explain and teach the students something that they didn't understand and can now do by themselves. It makes me feel good that I'm helping them and it makes them feel good that they understand their schoolwork.
The fun part of my job is interacting with the kids. There are 2 or 3 girls that I have grown close to and they talk to me. They always want my attention and always want to be with me. I feel that this is a civic responsibility because I can be a positive role model for them.…
Cultural diversity is fun for all of us; we learn from each other. Letting the children teach me is also fun for them. It gives them a chance to teach the teacher.
I'm not quite sure how this civic involvement has influenced my future plans. However, I do know that I enjoy working with the children and helping them achieve higher levels of success in school.…
We are very fortunate in our country to have freedom and civil liberties. It is within all of us to give of ourselves and help each other. Helping each other and sharing our talents and abilities is the best way that I know to demonstrate civic responsibility.
