Samar Gasser
Myself Third Spirit of New York 2004 Scholarship Winner
Long Island City High School
LaGuardia Community College
"Samar Gasser is an outstanding member of our student body. She is a child of Egyptian parents. They both attended universities in Egypt. Her parents have instilled in Samar a value of education and the satisfaction one can receive by succeeding. During her time here, Samar has performed at the optimum level academically. She has been a member of our Honors Academy for three and a half years. She has been in Honors and Advanced Placement classes as well. Her strongest subjects are French, Physics, and English. I have been Samar's Guidance Counselor for four years. She has always been a serious-minded and diligent student. She is very respectful and accepting towards me and whomever she may come into contact with. She carries herself with dignity and grace. She will be an asset to any institute of higher learning."
—C. Weissfeld, College Advisor
Work, Volunteer, and Extra-Curricular Activities
- Varsity Soccer Team
- Varsity Fencing Team
- Teacher?s Assistant, Therese Cervini Day Care
- Volunteer, Head Start Program
Excerpts from Samar's Essay
One summer, I was presented with a job opportunity to work as a teacher's assistant in a day care center. Curious and eager I accepted, unaware of how such a job would impact me. The day care center was located in a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with. The majority of the children in the classroom spoke Spanish and little or no English, which made it very difficult for me to communicate with them. However, as time passed I formed bonds with the children and the parents and began to communicate more fluently in both languages. Some of my responsibilities were to teach the children how to read and write, and to engage the students in a class discussion of a recently read children's book or their own personal artwork. It became mid-summer and time to begin making home visits to the parents to discuss their children's progress in school. It was time for me to be exposed to a world I chose to ignore for such a long time.
With every student I helped pronounce a word, or sing along to their favorite nursery rhyme, I felt connected to his/her future. It gave me a sense of satisfaction that I never encountered before. Taking a summer job out of inquisitiveness and inexperience gave me enough knowledge into the relationship and bond I can create with my community to last me a lifetime. Just like our founding fathers, my stepping stone of civil service is paved one child at a time.
