Today I sat in on a meeting with the Massachusetts Port Authority’s senior staff, in which plans for the next few years were discussed. One major point brought up, not very surprisingly, was the need to identify Massport’s major goal – did they want to be greedy (that was their own wording) and simply maximize profit or did they want to also think about the welfare of the neighborhoods surrounding their real estate? Several staff-members immediately and quite unashamedly chose maximizing profit. It was at that point that I really understand why I am interested in public service. I would care more about the welfare of surrounding neighborhoods. I do not claim to have a bleeding heart, but I do derive great happiness from helping others.
This is perhaps, subconsciously, why I applied to the Ward Fellowship. I definitely did it in part for selfish reasons. I did want something nice to put on my résumé and I did want a paycheck. However, I remember not really caring if the money was not that much I figured that if I was going to have a job, why not get one in public service, one where I am not only helping myself but others, too? Money is nice, but it is not everything. If I had tried, I probably could have gotten a job with higher pay, but I doubt I could have gotten a job that could have satisfied me and made me happier with myself than the Fellowship does. And happiness makes me richer than any amount of money ever will.
I was born on August 28th, 1996 and I have lived my entire life thus far in the same triple-decker house in East Boston. My house has actually been owned by my family since it was built over a hundred years ago. We have never had a lot of money but we have never struggled. I have never had to worry where my next meal was coming from. I have also never had to worry about having support. My mother has supported me in all my endeavors from birth and even though I, like many children with their own parents, have made her upset a few times, she has always made it blatantly known the will always love me and help me in whatever ways she can. I have her and her only to thank for my good academic standing, my clean permanent record, and my happiness in general.
I have just completed my junior year at Boston Latin School. I am on the school’s Mock Trial team and am vice president of the school’s gay-straight alliance. I am somewhat considering going into law after college, but either way, I love and have loved Mock Trial since I joined in my sophomore year. I have made some of my best friends on the Mock trial team (a bunch of us went, including a few who have already graduated BLS, went to Canobie Lake Park just yesterday). At our trials, I love taking the witness stand and confidently telling the judge why the defense is completely right and why the prosecution is just being silly. Also, nothing beats the feeling of destroying the attorney from the opposing team cross-examining me. My only regret is not joining Mock Trial earlier.
My life is actually great right now, and getting only greater. I have enjoyed this summer so far and am very excited for my senior year. I also, despite some anxiety, am looking forward enthusiastically to college, which I hope to spend in New York, perhaps at NYU or Columbia. I still do not really know where I want to go or what I want to do after college, but I am optimistic. I do know, however, that I always want public service to be a part of my life, either as a career or on the side. I have said it before and I will say it again. I acknowledge all the opportunities that life has given me that others do not have and I wish only to share the happiness with the world around me.