Hello everyone,
My name is Amelia Brumbaugh, and I am from Tennessee. I am looking forward to spending a semester immersed in Chilean culture through AFS, a leader in intercultural learning and offering international exchange programs in more than 40 countries around the world. To achieve this dream, I need to raise $10,000. While it first seemed an impossibility, I realized that if 1,000 companies and/or individuals each donated only $10, my goals could be met. If you or your organization would consider helping me, I implore you to continue reading in order to understand my desire to study in Chile.
Though I have never been to South America, I have developed a love for the Latin American community. Last January, my older brother volunteered to be a "big brother" to a little boy named Melvin at an inner-city elementary school. At that time, I was only 14, so I was not old enough to become a "big sister." However, I really wanted to help, so I offered to volunteer in a kindergarten class. The teacher was ecstatic and immediately put me to work helping Lilly, a Hispanic kindergartner, with her English and math. Though Lilly was quite a handful, I immediately fell in love with her. While I enjoyed spending as much time as I could with her, her parents usually were unable to pick her up from school until much later in the day, so I often spent the afternoon helping her with the alphabet. As I watched Lilly frolic about her classroom in a filthy shirt which had sleeves that hung down to her knees, the teacher explained to me that she had a very hard life at home. I did my best to fight back tears when I rolled up Lilly's too-long sleeves and she said, "You're my best friend, Ms. Amelia."
At that moment, I realized that I needed to become an advocate to the children at the school with similar problems to Lilly in order to build confidence, strength, and discipline. Suddenly, this was "my" school, "my" community and children. Throughout my life, dance has made me the person I am. It has given me the willpower and determination to be the best that I can be. It immediately became apparent to me that by bringing dance into these children's lives, I could help them develop the tenacity they needed to succeed and stay out of trouble.
After speaking to the principal about starting a ballet program at the school, I began making flyers and developing a lesson plan. I was thrilled when I learned that 12 girls and one boy had signed up for the class. After months of watching my students grow as dancers, I wanted them to have a chance to showcase their newly-found talents. With the help of families, teachers and the owner of the studio where I dance, as well as the help of the teachers at the elementary school, I was able to raise approximately $500 and multiple donated leotards, tights and tutus. My class was then asked to perform at Project Grad, an event set up for the area schools to encourage kids to stay in school and graduate. I was honored when I was told that Project Grad had been around for multiple years, but this was the first year that the elementary school where I hold my ballet class had participated. With the funds that I raised through the support of the community, I was able to provide each female student with a leotard, tights, a tutu, ballet shoes, and a tiara, and my male student with a suit and a pair of ballet shoes.
As my class anxiously awaited their performance, I reminded them that they were capable of achieving anything with determination and hard work. Secretly, I was just as nervous as they were. However, once the music began to play, all of my worries faded away. Perhaps it was the shimmer of happiness in Angelina's eyes or Darnishi's beautiful, gleaming smile which filled me with joy. Whatever it was, I became overwhelmed with satisfaction as Asper and Jaden finished their final turns and the audience sprung to their feet with applause. After the class took their exit, they all ran and nearly knocked me over with hugs as I presented each of them with a bouquet of flowers. I was so proud of them that I used the remaining money from donations to buy each of them a trophy which had a ballerina on it as well as their names. During the annual awards ceremony at the school, I announced each of my ballerina's names as I gave them their trophies.
Once summer began, I started to miss all of my students from the elementary school. Fortunately, there is a church across from the school which has a summer reading program. After contacting the administrator of the program, she put me in charge of helping with the first and second graders. I was thrilled to find out that some of my ballet students were attending the summer program. After weeks of helping many native Spanish-speaking children with their reading, I was amazed at how much Francisco, Alonso, John, and Angelina had improved. Unfortunately, it was often hard for me to communicate with the Spanish-speaking community, especially the parents.
The language barrier issue continued as I began enrolling children for the ballet program this fall. Many Spanish-speaking children who had been in the class the previous year were unable to sign up, and I was incapable of discussing the problem with their parents. I realized that if I wanted to continue my involvement with that community, I needed to learn Spanish. After consideration, I decided that the best way for me to learn Spanish as well as develop a different world view was to go on an exchange program to a Latin American country.
Considering my amazing experience so far with Latin American communities, I hope to continue my volunteer work throughout my life. I have always had a passion for science and I've always enjoyed helping people. Clearly, with these interests, I would like to continue my education through medical school. I aspire to become a doctor and volunteer with Doctors Without Borders in order to work in Latin American Countries. Obviously, this is not goal that can be obtained easily. However, I am very willing to work for it. I am currently a sophomore in high school. In order to receive the best possible education within the restrictions of my family's financial abilities, I made the decision to homeschool. However, I do not actually do my classes at home. Instead, I take all of my classes at Pellissippi Community College. This has allowed me to excel in all of my subjects. In fact, I'm currently taking pre-calculus, which is two years ahead of what I would be taking as a sophomore if I had chosen to take a more traditional educational path. After completing my first semester at Pellissippi this fall, I received an A in all subjects, including U.S. History I, Biology I, Pre-Calculus Algebra, and English Composition II. I intend to continue my 4.0 average as I take U.S. History II, Biology II, Spanish I, and Pre-Calculus Trigonometry next semester.
While my parents are doing everything they can to raise money for my AFS exchange program, it will be nearly impossible for them to pay for it themselves. By using the $2,000 that I have been saving my entire life, I have done everything in my power to help pay for the exchange. Unfortunately, my father was laid off from his job as a Geographical Information Systems Manager in September of 2008. He was out of work for one year and has been very underemployed since then. During the time my father was out of work completely, my mom had to work three jobs in order for us to keep our house and to allow me to continue my dance classes. On top of all that, my parents worked to give me the the best education and life possible. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate my parents' hard work. Considering both of my parents are still underemployed and we are struggling financially, the only way for me to go to Chile is by raising enough money.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. My goal is to receive a donation of at least $10 from 1,000 businesses/people in order to raise $10,000. This will help pay for my exchange along with the required fees for documents and travel. Even a small donation of $10 would help tremendously.
Sincerely,
Amelia Brumbaugh
