Ni Hnem

- I am apart of a church community of people who came from Chin State in Myanmar and a lot of the parents don't speak english or their kids are too young to help.

- I do not get paid for the help that I give because I do it as volunteer work and I understand what it is like to come into a country not knowing anything or the language.

- I typically help with school when parents with younger students need help with orientation, paper work, or meeting with a teacher.

- I also help with appointments (medical) and I translate to the best of my abilities.

- This has helped me build confidence in speaking to people and not being afraid to speak to people as it was something I struggled with since I was younnger.

- Since moving to the US, I have played/participated in a few sports.

- I started off as a runner in elementary school and I participated in a club where we ran every Tuesday and Thursday.

- I won a marathon trophy for the year my 3rd and 4th grade then a double marathon my 5th grade year.

- In middle school, I started playing volleyball and as much as I enjoyed the sport, the coaches, not so much. However, it was a character development building process and it taught me to toughen up in hard situations.

- I played volleyball all throughout middle school year but stopped in high school. It helped me with teamwork and a lot of leadership development.

- I have participated in all sorts of clubs at school since my freshman year: theater, culture club, FBLA, all sort of science clubs/activities offered, TSA, etc...

- The clubs I participate in help me spend my time in a good way and I also learn a lot of new things.

- Joining clubs has helped me with a lot of leadership and accountability because if you want to compete and win, you have to put in work: take accountability.

- Clubs have also helped me with working with others and interacting with teachers. I have learned important life skills such as keeping up with deadlines and being prepared and ready by then.

- My favorite is probably the experience and feeling that being apart of a club gives you. The feeling of being involved and the adrenaline you get to be the best person that you can be.

- Being the church florist is also a volunteer work that I do. I do not get paid for it.

- I did this at first because our church's old florist had to stop due to personal issues and filler people did it but no one could truly do it so they asked me. - I do get funded for the flowers only but the labor and work is all volunteer and no pay.

- It does get busy sometimes with all the other things that I do but I think doing this had helped me improve in my patience in many ways.

- It has also helped me with time management (which is something I struggled with all the time).

- Overall, I really enjoy it even with the stress because I grew up as a kid who loved art and working with my hands and arranging flowers has brought that inner child back out.

• Greeted customers promptly and took orders to keep flow of traffic moving.
• Followed food safety procedures outlined in company policies and health and sanitation regulations to prevent food borne illness.
• Performed food preparation responsibilities to meet franchise standards for quantities, speed, and packaging.
• Restocked workstations with supplies and food display cases with fresh selections to decrease customer waiting during busy periods.
• Wiped counters and sanitized equipment to maintain clean food prep and dining areas.
• Trained newly hired employees on routine tasks and customer service.
• Promptly resolved customer complaints, escalating major issues to supervisor.
• Processed orders on POS system and accepted cash and charge payments.
• Collaborated with team members to quickly fill large orders and serve large parties.

• Led faith-based life to provide example for students between ages 5 and 7.
• Adapted bible verses and lessons into stories and activities to help children comprehend scriptures.
• Managed classroom behavior to maintain safety and promote orderly learning environments.
• Planned and facilitated summer camp for 80 students directed around community bible study.
• Tested children's bible knowledge by asking bible trivia questions and hosting bible quizzing competitions.
• Encouraged class participation to build student confidence and interest in church teachings.
• Participated in various outreach programs.

- I did a tutoring program through my high school where I tutored an AP Stats class for a whole semester.

• Motivated students towards learning and studying to build self-confidence and reduce fear of failure.
• Provided homework assistance using specific curriculum and materials.
• Collaborated with students to complete homework assignments, identify lagging skills, and correct weaknesses.
• This also helped me development self confidence in ways like being more confident in assisting people and being more comfortable when I work with others.

- The festival happens every year and since I entered high school, I have been volunteering here every year (2022-2025, next volunteer is in September of 2025).

- The volunteer work is through Kickapoo High School Asian Culture Club ran by Kazumi Holcomb.

- We are a non profit based and run a children's area from the start of the festival 10 AM to sunset (about 8-8:30 PM).

- We do all sorts of fun games and activities (Japanese games) such as Koi fishing, name kanji writing, face painting, and etc...

- It is a really helpful event I do every year since I am a teacher and it helps me learn better interactions and communication with children and their needs.

- This program was for sophomores where they chose students who met the academic requirements but also had to go through a selection process.

- Me and one of my peers here at Kickapoo were chosen for the program where we spent 3 weeks at Mizzou (kinda like summer college for high school students).

- We picked a major and a minor where we spent 3 weeks learning about the major and minor. My major was Sounds of Science and my minor was Art for Non-Artist.

- This opportunity taught me many new things about sounds and vibrations and so much more about insects and biology (which I never really took interest in until I did this program).

- I not only met many cool teachers and professors, I made a lot of new friends and peers I shared great memories with (many who I am still very good friends with in the present).

- This opportunity also helped me peek into what college life looks like with living in a dorm, doing our own laundry, and being self-independent.

- We were also not allowed to have our phone or any sort of electronics outside of our dorm rooms which got us teenagers out of our comfort zones and away from screens which helped us in so many ways.

- This volunteer I did was through MSU in 2024 when our sister city in Japan has students from Yotsuba High come down to Springfield.

- I worked as an ambassador and I help a teacher with teaching about conservation and just touring around town.

- We did a lot of activities together from the students first experience at a Walmart to learning, drawing, and more in a classroom setting.

- I took Japanese in school so it was fun to learn more from people who speak it daily and also had a wonderful time helping them with english as well.