Yesenia Garcia
Myself Third Spirit of New York 2002 Scholarship Winner
Norman Thomas High School
Borough of Manhattan Community College
"It is not just what Yesenia does that makes her such a great person — it is the way she does it.… She is modest but sharply aware, as John Donne would have put it, that she is 'part of the continent.' Although she is an active member in the Honor Society — chairperson of our intellectual Affairs Committee — and does all of the activities we do, her real commitment is to the East Side House Youth Leadership Program. There, her real leadership skills come to the fore.… There is a graciousness about what she does, about her interactions with the world, that cannot be taught — a talent for life.… She can be counted on to give more than she takes."
—Alan Ravage, College Advisor
Work, Volunteer, and Extra-Curricular Activities
- Digital Vision — Assistant Office Manager
- Norman Thomas High School Honor Society
- East Side House Settlement — Youth Leadership Program
Excerpts from Yesenia's Essay
Civic responsibility means acting upon different situations having to do with our environment as a whole, in a manner where not only you benefit, but others as well.… It is our civic responsibility not to just let our leaders do what they think is best for us, but to let them know what we feel is best for us and to make sure they base their decisions on that.…
I am looking forward to voting this fall for the first time. My mother has taught me that my civic duty is to vote. She faithfully goes every Election Day to vote at her assigned location and I take my example from her.
As a member of the East Side House Youth Leadership Program, I take pride in saying that I carried out my civic responsibilities very well as a teenager, and will continue doing so as an adult. Our program helps beautify my community by planting trees. As they continue maturing, I realize how they symbolize the effects of our civic actions over time.…
Because there is so much that needs to be done, we tend to forget that civic responsibility gives a feeling of great pride when carried out with love and not selfishly for recognition or reputation. I am one person, but when I act to improve a situation, I do it with the perspective that what I am doing is helping a group of people. Modest as this is, I feel I am achieving a great deal toward serving my country.…
If we all thought this way there would be no negative aspect to any of our lives. There would be no wars, no discrimination against another, and ours would be a country where the word united would take on a new meaning.
