Congressional Youth Advisory Council: Service that lasts forever

Last weekend I graduated from Congressman Sam Johnson's Congressional Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) and received the Congressional Record Certificate.

 You may be wondering what’s so special about it. Well, the Congressional Record (CR) is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session, similar to a newspaper. It has both a physical printed copy as well as a digital copy that can be viewed online. Since CYAC is an active council of the US Congress, we the CYAC class of 2014 went down in history.

So what is the Congressional Youth Advisory Council? It is a council consisting of a select group of individuals who are given first-hand experiences with the different sectors of the government with the goal of making us more civic-minded, and think about what we, as citizens, can do for the country. We are also given the opportunity to share our insights and thoughts with Congressman Johnson.  

It all started with my Law teacher, Toni Adams handing me the application. I noted that I had only one day before the application deadline. I frantically filled out the application and reached out to my contacts for recommendations. It was such a short notice but my mentor Bob Hopkins and my Scoutmaster Scott Kubasta gave up their precious free time to write the recommendation letters for me that evening. Next morning, my mom rushed to the Congressman’s office to drop off the application. It all happened so quickly and before I knew it, I received a letter of acceptance to the Council. I was thrilled. I knew this would be another amazing experience for me.

As part of CYAC, I learnt about Sam Johnson and his service to the nation. I got to speak with a representative of the Collin County Veterans Court and learn about their rehabilitation program. On a field trip to the Department of Homeland Security Threat Fusion Center, I learnt how they detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity.  As my final project, I had the privilege of interviewing Lt. Commander, Peter Fallgatter, a naval officer who was a significant contributor to the mission, Operation: Enduring Freedom.

At our graduation ceremony, Brandon Byers, a war veteran who lost his left leg in 2005 from a roadside bomb in Iraq, talked to us about the different ways one can served his country. He explained that one can serve his country by enlisting in the military, or by holding a political office and creating legislature that helps the citizens. One can serve also his country by starting his own business and providing jobs to the locals. What's important is the desire to serve. This really resonated with me as I could connect it to my passion to serve others.

On the final day, as we received our graduation certificates and took pictures the Congressman, in my mind I renewed my vow to continue in my service to others. I also promised myself to visit Washing D.C. soon and check out the Congressional Records at the Library of Congress. Hard to believe but my name will be kept alive in the annals of American history.

With Congressman Sam Johnson

With Brandon Byers

With Congressman Sam Johnson and my Mom

11 Years Later, He's Still My Bestest Friend

The boy was known to all as Dave Raj Banerjee
Who was I to know he'd have so much energy
When he came to us
I wondered what all he does
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

He grew older and we grew closer
We were smooth like butter, never any coarser
I had this great responsibility to protect him
Making sure that the light in his life was never too dim
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

Every step that he took in his life was for me like living twice
He did almost everything like me. And those memories were just as nice
As the first time when it was me
But this time it was he
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

There was a year when we went to the same school
I got to walk with him everyday. That was really cool.
He walked into Tadlock for the first time
And it was there he began his climb
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

He was a Cub Scout and he's almost done
He's gotten all the awards: every single one
He'll be moving onward to Boy Scouts
Where his spirit for adventure he will find out.
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

When faced with science he is always hungry for more
He learns so much about it, I worry he'll run out of science to explore
Always asking me questions about things I have never heard prior
He is constantly looking for a way to get one step higher
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

And on January 27, 2013 when you have turned 11
I will still remember the face I saw when you first came from heaven
I love you now and will love you forever on
You are the best Dave and to me you're an Icon
He is my brother
And a better one, there is no other

Happy Birthday Dave!

A Letter To My Summer School Teacher

This past summer, I had taken a Communications Applications course to earn the Speech credit required for graduation without having to take up a class period during the year. As the first semester ended just before winter break, I wrote my teacher an email today thanking her for teaching us and taking the time out of her vacation to teach students about Communication, so that we can use our time during the school year to do other things in the free semester we now have. While thanking her, I did have two pieces of criticism that I shared.

The letter went like this (names have been abbreviated to protect the identities of the educators):

Ms. R,

Happy New Year! I hope you still remember me! The second semester has just started and I would like to thank you for being my Communications Applications teacher at summer school this past summer of 2013. Your teachings allowed me to get the Speech credit required for graduation without having to take up space in my yearly schedule. Because of your class, I was able to take a semester long Law I class which I wouldn't have been able to until next year had I not taken Speech with you.

I enjoyed your class very much from the activities involving reading storybooks, making song parodies, and general speeches. I was only disappointed in the fact that you didn't believe in my ability to be different and be "great". There were two times when I had felt that I wasn't encouraged in your class.

1) When we had to write/present an introductory speech about a leader, I had asked if we could introduce ourselves. I would have been content with a no, but your comment was slightly heartbreaking. You had said "No, you're not a leader at all." As a teacher that teaches communication and speaking with respect, I felt that I wasn't given that respect and was quite angry. I believe that I am a leader, and others feel the same. Being a leader, I even had a recorded speech online (another aspect of the assignment)

[watch the talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF5WCcMmJ3U].

I hope that that I have proven to you that I am a leader

2) When we were making our resumes, I had put on Executive Director of Philanthropy Kids (2012- ). You were incredulous that someone at the age of 15 (13 at the time of start) could be the Executive Director and you kept asking me how I could be in charge of an organization at that age. The following day, to prove to you that I could be in charge of a movement at a young age, I brought my magazine, and unintentionally got in trouble for showing one of my friends who had believed me. You asked me if I wanted the magazine to be yours implying that I should sit down and put it away. At any other time I would have done just that, but then I had to make a point I said yes...and I handed the magazine to you. I saw the look on your face of disbelief that I was so willing to lose something to a teacher. I said to you "That magazine that's in your hands right now, that's my magazine, and I'm the executive director of the organization Philanthropy Kids. From that point on, you had "believed" that I was capable in doing different things that other kids my age weren't doing.

I didn't mean any disrespect in the above passage, but I just wanted to bluntly explain to you my only two issues with your class. But criticism is useless unless I recommend a solution. I would ask you to believe in your students. You don't need to expect that all students are amazing, but just believe that they can be different. No student should ever feel as if they have to prove that they aren't like the rest to their teacher, they should expect that they are treated as an individual and not just "student-[insert ID number here]". Again, I wish I could do the course again because it was so much fun, and I would like to thank you for being such a great teacher and I hope to see you again sometime in the near future.

Best Regards,

Amit Banerjee (10th)

Don't Quote Me

To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature.

-Auguste Rodin

Take a moment to take in the words of famous sculptor, Auguste Rodin. But to truly understand this quote you must break this ten word phrase up into three parts.

1) [To the artist]

This phrase makes everyone equal as it calls for the imagination of the reader. Imagination, regardless of the person's background, is infinite; it's something that can make something into nothing while still being nothing. An artist is one who expresses his or her emotions and experiences through various mediums as sought fit. Emotions can be unique to each person in this universe. Even though you've either said or heard the words "I know how you feel", it would be impossible to actually have the same feelings as the other person. With this line, we enter the "imagination's" mind.

2) [there is never anything]

This phrase, at a glance, means that nothing is present, but look a little closer and you'll see there is much more than a mere nothing. Take this line with a little bit of the last analysis with the idea of eternity and infinity. When there is never anything, there never was, never is, and never will be.

3) [ugly in nature]

This phrase is almost an oxymoron. How can nature be ugly? It was given to us to enjoy and embrace the beauty of the place we call home. The only way nature is ugly is when you see the human impact on it. We make the beautiful into something ugly just to create something temporarily. The ugliness in nature is not evident, meaning it's not there. It never was. It never will be for all eternity.

So put it together: [in the open mind of a person who wants to express himself or herself] [exists no trace of existence] [of bad in a good world]

From another mind comes these quotes, but take it upon yourself to figure out what it really means. Who knows what you'll find...

-Amit

Heritage High School Feeds Frisco

On October 8^th, 2013, my mom received an email from a friend that Frisco Family services is dangerously low on food and desperately needs donations of 60,000 lbs. of food to feed the needy in the area. That evening during dinner time, my mom shared this news with me. As a family, I knew we would donate some food to the FFS but I realized that we could make a bigger impact if we could spread the word and reach out to more people for donations. It was one of the best dinner table conversations we ever had as a family because at the end of dinner, I knew I had to do something. I decided to approach my school and explore the idea of a food drive with them.

 I met with my Assistant Principal and some other teachers and before I knew it, Heritage Philanthropy Club (HPC), the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and Daughters of our Living Lord and Savior (DOLLS) were all excited about this project and eager to help.

We decided to hold a competition between the 2A classes. The class with the maximum items donated would win but didn’t reveal what the winning class would receive as a prize. At Heritage High School, every individual, whether they are a student, or a teacher, lives by a code called Coyote CLASS. CLASS stands for for Character, Leadership, Accountability, Scholarship, and Service to others. We hoped the students would use this as an opportunity to show their service to others.

The classes were rated on a point system per item. The items most needed by Frisco Family services were worth two points, while all other items were worth a point. Each Friday, the items collected were tallied up, points were awarded, and the officers of the organizing clubs took the items to the front of the school to set up a display. Students saw this display grow larger and larger as the weeks went on, and gained a deep sense of pride in themselves and their school.

To keep the momentum going, we promoted the food drive during the school news broadcast every morning. During lunch, we had a "food drive representative" to remind the students of the event. We used rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) that we learnt in the classrooms whenever possible. We pulled out statistics from Frisco Family Services about the projected number of families that would be  struggling to have food on their tables in the upcoming holiday season, we drew of the word "philanthropy" to spark curiosity in our efforts, and raised awareness among the students that there are people right here in Frisco who needed their help. We instilled in the students, a desire to help others in a degree that Heritage hadn't seen before.

We had great participation in the first week itself. Some classes brought in, a humble 5-10 cans, while other classes knocked it out of the park by bringing cartloads of food. At that time, we decided to divulge the prize for the contest winners – FREE breakfast for the winning class.

A little incentive gave another boost to the food drive. Each class was attempting to outdo each other in bringing in food items. On the side, we contacted local stores and very excited when two local Kroger stores agreed to match our collection up to $250. Whole Foods went another step ahead and matched penny for penny.

On the last day of the food drive, we had the front hallway of the school filled with food collected by the students. A Penske truck had been hired to take the food from the school to Frisco Family Services. All of the organizing groups come together one last time to load the food (yes, we had two truckloads of food!!!) into the truck.

I am proud to say that Heritage students and staff contributed a total of 2,601 items weighing 2,678 lbs. That’s enough food to feed 27 families and fill a 16-foot truck twice! Special recognition to Ms. Biggerstaff’s class, who contributed 1,215 of the 2,601 items

I could hardly believe that a simple email and a dinner time conversation could lead to such an experience of a lifetime. I am certain that all of us who were involved in this cause were profoundly impacted and will continue to serve in the community in one way or the other. To me personally, it was another step in my journey to helping others. The most satisfying part about this event was that it was initiated, planned, and executed by the students with help from the faculty and administration.I was super thrilled at the volume of donations we received and felt a little lighter that at least some of the local families wouldn't go to bed hungry during the holiday season.

                                

-Amit

Productivity: It helps me Sleep?

We all need sleep. Some get the average 8+ hours a day, while some rarely get to meet this friendly beast.

This evening, I was in the car with my mom driving home from school. We were talking about my "unfulfilled" sleep schedule. She said that the reason I don't get enough sleep is I don't get enough sleep.

Let me explain the craziness she had just uttered: When you work on something and you go to sleep later than you normally do, you will wake up at the same time you normally do (say 7:00), but you'll be more tired. This is because you slept less. Now for the rest of the day, you are less awake than you were the previous day. Since you are more tired, your brain cannot function as well as it could if it was well-rested, so it takes longer to do certain assignments that were assigned today. Instead of it taking an hour to finish your chemistry homework, it now takes you 1 hour 15 minutes. And sadly enough, this cuts into you sleep again. You go to sleep 15 minutes later and wake up at 7:00; you wake up even more tired and your brain can't function as well because it is so tired. Now the work for chemistry that normally takes you one hour takes you 1.5 hours. And that, unfortunately, cuts into your precious sleep. And this cycle continues until we get a day of rest where we go to sleep early and wake up late preparing us for the cycle that will come in just a few days.

We take many things for granted in our lives, but one thing should never be sleep. We need it too much. So what can we do? We can focus. Plan our work and manage our time, so certain tasks take an allotted amount of time-no more, no less. We get our work done on time, we get to bed on time, we wake up on time, so we're more awake than ever, to do it all over again.

-Amit

My "PAVE" Road: From A Student To A Teacher

PAVE stands for Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Entrepreneurship. The program was founded by Bob Hopkins and teaches kids the basics of philanthropy, communication and presentation skills, and what it takes to be a leader. I had my first taste of the PAVE program way back in 2007 when I was in the 4th grade. Through PAVE, I learnt about philanthropy and how vital our small helpful acts are to the society. It was my first major fundraising experience. Our class got to pick a non-profit organization of our choice (we picked Texas Scottish Rite Hospital) and raise money to help kids needing special treatment of an orthopedic condition.

Now fast forward to June 2013. Mr. Hopkins calls me and asks if I would like to get involved with PAVE but this time as an instructor! I thought “How cool is that!” I was being asked if I could change the lives of kids through a program which had changed mine. Over the course of the next few weeks, Allison Johnson, an experienced PAVE instructor, and I planned out a “Summer” PAVE program for kids in the Collin County area.

The sessions were held at the Frisco Public Library. We had a bunch of super motivated kids from 6-12 years of age. Session one involved teaching the kids the meaning of philanthropy and how we can incorporate it in our everyday lives. Session two was about goals – setting and following through with them.  During session three, we taught the students about entrepreneurship and how to approach and fix a problem through creative ideas and a plan of action. In the fourth session, the kids learned about many non-profit organizations, their mission statements, logos and famous philanthropists and their work in the community. Throughout the four weeks, students learned the importance of good communication skills, poise and posture, and techniques to make a great first impression. We ended the PAVE Summer program with a bang – An Award Ceremony to recognize the students who worked hard to learn about philanthropy, volunteerism and entrepreneurship and pledged to make a difference in their community through acts of kindness.

It was an incredible experience for me when I was in 4th grade, and now, even more so. I loved teaching the kids how to be a philanthropist and be a great leader.

I think the kids walked away with a better understanding of how little acts can make a big impact. I hope that PAVE kindled a desire in them to do something for their community and some day one or more of these kids will take the flame forward as a teacher of the PAVE program.                                                            -Amit