LIHUE — Two Kauai High School students are learning about networking and supporting one another early in their careers. Grace Peralta and Frances Abundo began supporting one another after they met through two local nonprofit groups. “I want to be
LIHUE — Two Kauai High School students are learning about networking and supporting one another early in their careers.
Grace Peralta and Frances Abundo began supporting one another after they met through two local nonprofit groups.
“I want to be a psychologist,” said Abundo.
“And I want to do service work for my community,” said Peralta.
In November, the two teens attended a mentoring event through the Keiki to Career program, a system that supports young people from cradle to career and guides them through stages in their lives.
“I introduced myself to Councilman Mason Chock,” said Peralta. “He got me involved in community service work with Malama Huleia.”
She began clearing mandrels taking over the shoreline with the nonprofit organization several times each month. She was hooked on community service and the benefits it provides.
“Service helped me find respect for my community and inspired me to step up to take positions that most people would avoid, and say to myself, if not you, then who?” Peralta asked.
Peralta also helped Abundo find a mentor through connections at a Keiki to Career event.
Abundo was working on her senior project, intending to discover more about who she was and what she would want to do post high school.
“My topic was about stress in the medical profession,” said Abundo. “My mentor used to be an emergency room nurse and now she is a clinical manager.”
Through interviews with her mentor and further senior project research, Abundo reaffirmed her passion for solving people’s problems.
“I like talking and listening to people,” Abundo said. “In March, as part of my project, I did a case study on a freshman and found out she had a lot of stress in her life. She had been bullied and had been staying up all night doing homework trying to live up to her older sister who had done really good in school.”
Both Peralta and Abundo have also found value in the benefits of The Boys and Girls Club.
“I learned how to do public speaking,” Peralta said.
Again Abundo and Peralta listened and coached one another with their speeches and essays. Together they rose, earning individual Youth of the Year best essay award and best speech awards.
“We both have the same aspirations for our futures and how our lives are planned out for us by Jesus,” Abundo said. “In high school, you could get into something totally bad. Being around Grace and other friends has kept me grounded.”
Peralta believes her character development has come through her church and community involvement.
“The process of serving my community is where I discovered how my morals are developed through humility and service. If every community member, old or young, changed their mindset to be of growth, imagine how great our community could be, imagine how great the world would be.”
After high school graduation, Peralta will attend Azuza Pacific University in California and Abundo is deciding between offers to attend either the University of Hawaii Manoa or Fordham University in New York.
• Lisa Ann Capozzi, features and education reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
