The volunteering I did at the English Language Learners summer camp through the Belmont Public Schools system taught me the importance of perspective, and further reinforced the notion of kindness. Some of the kids struggled with writing, others with reading, but their hard work and persistence struck a chord with me. By helping them through their difficulties, I was able to see how they were capable of solving their own problems and how I could learn from that.

My experience as a referee for the Belmont Youth Basketball association showed me how we really should treats refs in a nicer way. There was a lot of pressure from every single person in the gym who wanted their respective team to win the game, so I had to confront their opinions on my calls and ultimately learn to brush it off. It was a valuable job for me because of how much I was able to grow from it in terms of thinking independently without being by others who wanted me to act differently.

As a food service worker at McLean Hospital, the value of hard work was constantly reinforced. Although I was up on my feet most of the day washing dishes or bringing food to the patients, there was some freedom to have fun with my coworkers like the TikToks we would make.

I’ve basically lived in the library from the moment I knew of its existence, slowly graduating from the Children’s Room to the Young Adult section. Since I spend so much time there reading and studying with friends, I wanted to also contribute back to it some way. My job as a library page emphasizes the importance of taking care of the library through shelving books, rearranging shelves, and helping patrons. In this way I am able to make one of my favorites places more accessible to everyone.

SerbFest is an annual event that takes pride in Serbian culture and offers a place for people to come together and enjoy all of the different aspects that make Serbia so special. I was involved in volunteering at a food stand with my family, where we would make sandwiches with ingredients such as chivape (Serbian sausages) and urnebes (traditional spread). It’s my favorite food, and I always look forward to having it and being involved in the process every year.