Don't Forget About Africa

Hi,

 

        My name is Juan Magalhães. I was born and raised in Brazil until I came to the United States two years ago, as a junior, to study and play soccer for the Cate School in California. I recently received a Quest Bridge Scholarship to study at Bowdoin College with the class of 2021. Growing up with a small family in the favelas (slums) of Brazil, I quickly learned and mastered the skill of resilience, working extremely hard to achieve my goals. I never had money, but my deep passion for soccer and learning carried me far. I taught myself English in order to come to America and take advantage of all the amazing opportunities that this country offers. Through hard work and eagerness for learning I received a full scholarship to study at the Cate School, where I discovered community service, my greatest passion. Community service offers me the opportunity to help bring up those forgotten by society, to bring up people like myself. I became the Head of Public Service at Cate and I’ve received Leadership and Service awards to visit Costa Rica, Fiji, South Africa, and Nicaragua where I was able to help to run camps for low income children, build classrooms, and install water systems. The most personal growth I garnered from my service was from the people I helped, who offered me profound lessons about the human condition and our inherent empathy. These service experiences taught me that the pursuit of happiness in life is not derived from financial success but rather derived from forming deep connections with others and making positive, lasting change to help others first.

         Service strengthened my belief that everybody is entitled to chase his/her dreams and learn regardless of their circumstances or origins. However, I am also aware that opportunity is only one factor among myriad of others that can improve the condition of the world. I too desire success professionally and in school, but I think the world would be so much better if people like me, people who are poor, people who are oppressed, people who lack opportunity, would have the chance to achieve their highest level of potential. Thus, I’d like to share my new project with you. The “Don’t Forget About Africa” project has the principle goal of improving the infrastructure of schools in Africa, as well as their learning environments. I have seen the effects of the project thus far, and I cannot wait to continue this work.