Extra-Curriculars

Taekwondo

Ontario Provincial tournament - 2019. Blue

Canadian National Championship - 2018. Second to the left.

I have trained in taekwondo for over nine years at Son's Taekwondo Academy. At Son's, I've learned the various kicking and sparring techniques and patterns of taekwondo. I am currently a third-degree blackbelt. When needed, I assist the school's masters in teaching the beginner classes. From February 15-18, 2018, I competed in the 2018 National Taekwondo Championship. I represented Ontario in the junior -48kg division and finished in second place. It was an honour to represent my province and team/ club at such a high level. Getting to this point was not easy of course. It took countless hours of training, proper eating, and sacrificing time with family and friends. I had a goal in mind and was aware of the sacrifices. I then set out to become number one in the country. unfortunately, I had to settle for the number two spot. This did not discourage me, instead, this motivated me to work more towards the goals I have. Taekwondo has taught me important transferable skills that I can apply to every domain of life. Training has taught me discipline, perseverance, dedication, and respect.

Volunteering

I have been a member of the Saint Jane Frances Youth Group since I entered high school. The youth group organizes/ initiates many community events and charity work. Some examples of what we do are Christmas toy drives, feeding the homeless, and seasonal events like carwashes. I'm a key member of the "street patrol" initiative; This is where we travel to Downtown Toronto to give homeless people water, snacks, and sandwiches in the summer and winter clothing in the winter. The people we help are always so appreciative and happy to see us.

I am also involved in the community outside of the youth group. I previously tutored a grade 9 peer and I am currently tutoring a grade 10 peer. I was also a leader during the grade nine orientation retreat last year and a core organizer this year. Being involved in the community has taught me the value of teamwork and helping others.

Violin

I have been taking violin lessons for nearly five years. I have my lessons every Monday. My teacher has taught me different techniques, how to play in first to fifth positions, how to read notes, and some musical theory. I chose to play the violin because I like the way the instrument sounds, I wanted to embrace my artistic side and wanted to balance the aggressiveness of doing taekwondo with something more relaxing. I learned quickly that learning how to play the violin is anything but relaxing. It is a difficult instrument to learn that requires much practice and study. As I am not averse to challenges I continue to play. I love to play the violin and I am excited to continue to improve. Playing the violin has opened my mind to many forms of art/ culture, improved my creativity and my ability to quickly process information, and taught me that nothing worth having comes easy.

duke of Edinburgh's award

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is an award given to young people who have completed the requirements in the areas of physical fitness, a skill, community service, and undertaking an adventurous journey in an unfamiliar environment. My physical fitness, skill, and community service sections were taekwondo, violin, and charity work with my church's youth group respectively. The award program pushes young people to expand their horizons, to grow, and to be ready for the challenges of life. I am a recipient of the bronze level award. I am currently close to achieving the silver level award. Afterwards, I plan on attaining the gold award, the highest level. The program has taught me the importance of self-improvement and to strive for excellence.