Kira Ibarra
Myself Third Spirit of New York 2003 Scholarship Winner
Edward R. Murrow High School
Kingsborough Community College
"Kira is an outstanding student: conscientious, hardworking, and extremely smart. Besides her academic excellence, Kira has always been involved in student activities and has held positions of leadership. She participated in the school's peer math tutoring programs last year. Kira met once a week after school with several students who sought help in mathematics. She showed a great deal of enthusiasm and responsibility. Kira has always stood out as an example of discipline, responsibility, and above all, as a team player. Her peers love working with her in any school aspect. Her sense of commitment and leadership is commendable. Lastly, Kira's sunny disposition will get her very far. Kira's presence throughout her school life has been invaluable."
—Herminzul Ayala, Bilingual Math/Science Teacher
Work, Volunteer, and Extra-Curricular Activities
- Volunteer, Big Brother/Big Sister Program
- After School Peer to Peer Bilingual Tutoring Program
- The New York Aquarium Docent Program/Wildlife Conservation Society
- Poet's Corner and Drama Club
- President, Universal Promotions Virtual Company
Excerpts from Kira's Essay
I came to America when I was nine years old. As immigrants, we see America as a place of opportunities. I had never imagined that nine years later, my values were going to have such a powerful influence on my beliefs so that today I know I can make a difference not only in my community but also in the world. Indeed, in my priorities, placing the needs of others above my own is number one.
When I was in the bilingual education program, I had the opportunity to see how the bilingual students struggle to get through math and other subjects. After completing two years of basic mathematics successfully, I decided to write a letter to the math department so that I could stay after school with the bilingual students and tutor them for an hour in math. I recruited three other friends who did extremely well in math to help me with the tutoring. I'm proud to say that two months after I wrote that letter, I was the director of the bilingual Spanish tutoring. That was October. January came and I was preparing ten students to take the Regents in mathematics. I even went to some of their houses to help them. I was overwhelmed with joy when the results came: seven of them passed the Regents.
After the success that we had as a team in the bilingual tutoring, I decided to make contacts and ask advanced math students that spoke Chinese to tutor their friends. The satisfaction that I got from creating such a program and the joy I feel when I see many of the students trying to achieve their goals completely fulfills me. I encourage them to continue and become leaders, because we are the future of tomorrow.
