Discus Award Winner
Sanpreet Kaur
10th Grade, CA
ATTRIBUTES
Academics
My success in academics is remarkable and makes me stand out of the whole school. As a freshman, I was one of the handful students to be in Honors Biology. Along with Honors Geometry, Honors English 9, and Honors World Geography 9, I had A’s in all semesters. I joined academic-wise clubs such as Science Olympiad, MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) and Mathletes. Now as a sophomore, I have even more excelled in academics. Currently I am taking AP World History, Honors English 10, Honors Algebra 2 and Chemistry. My GPA (Grade Point Average) is a 4.5 and I rank 2nd in my class. As a note I should make, the courses that I don't have a 10 or a 9 (grade level) next to, are the courses that even seniors are taking. In other words, my intelligence is on par with upper-classmen.
Community Service
As I reached for being the top student in my class, I also helped others to do their best. Since my freshman year and even today, I am tutoring students after school for an hour. I tutor everything from Algebra and Geometry to Biology and Chemistry or History. Moreover, I tutor everyone: seniors, juniors, freshmen and my class fellow sophomores. I have also served outside of my school (the real service). I’m part of “Increase the Peace” Program at the IMPACT Church Sacramento where we teach teenagers how to make appropriate friends and stay out of gangs and violence. I have also done service in my own church, the Guru Nanak Sat Sangat of California Elsie, a Sikh temple. Every Sunday, I go there at 6' o clock with my family to prepare food that we serve every Sunday to the homeless.
Other Achievements
At my high school, bullying was a dilemma, thankfully. As a Sikh, I was targeted many times because I looked like a Muslim and a terrorist. If I didn’t say anything back to them, I was encouraging the crowd. If I was fighting back, I was “defending my faith,” as a terrorist would. To kill this virus from its roots, I create the Indian Club at my school with my older brother's help. In this club, everyone of every race, ethnicity, sexuality and religion was allowed to join. The group forms an alliance between the Sikh Indians and the rest of the American society. Obviously, I’m using this as one of my achievements because it worked. Bullying has been reduced by over 50 percent. Currently, we are giving a voice against the unfair treatment that gays, lesbians and trans-sexuals experience.
