Meet Melanie Hernandez
Grade: Junior
Tenure: 2 year
Favorite Program: Workforce & Compass Program
career aspirations: Artist
About me
Did you know bears are normally shy around others? For me, it’s the same thing. I’m like a bear if you think about it. My name is Melanie but I like it when other people call me Mei. Mei is a nickname that was given to me by my cousin, Bianca. Bianca couldn’t pronounce my full name when we were younger and Mei has stuck since then. In December, I turned 17 and as a present, I got sick on my birthday, which was a process of turning 17. I live with my brother, Osmar. He has also attended Impact Center for about 2 years just like me. I also live with my mom and dad, Anayely and Javier. As for high school and my plans, I plan to go to a 4 year college or go to ECC and transfer to another college that I like. I would like to pursue a career in the arts because I’ve loved art for a long time ever since I was in elementary. Currently I’m working at Brookfield zoo mostly on weekends, which will be coming to an end because the zoo shuts down for 3 months after New Years. Brookfield Zoo was the first job I ever had, I never expected I would work at a zoo. It's like the saying expect the unexpected. I would like to thank the Impact Center for giving me the opportunity to work there.
"Learning different experiences is always something to look forward to. Getting to learn life skills is a big win if you join Boys & Girls Club."
UPCOMING EVENTS
Learn More About Me
Who I Am
Digging deeper into who I am, I want to start by saying what I like to do. I like to create art. Improving my art is what motivates me so when I look at it I can always be proud of it. An interesting aspect about me is that I always feel the need to do everything as perfectly as possible, because if I don’t I’ll feel like I haven’t done anything at all. Art is both my hobby and my passion. I really like to create things that come to mind and bring them to life with my hands. This is a great experience why I love art so much. The type of art I like to do is mostly drawing with markers. While I also like to do color pencils and painting I think markers are my strong suit. My plans for the future are to be a professional artist. While I don't know what I’ll use my art for. I do know I want to be a lifelong professional artist. What excites me is making progress to be a professional artist. Getting to learn techniques to improve my art is something I look forward to. I hope my art will make an impact in the world someday by inspiring others.
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My Club Experience
Overall, my experience at the boys and girls club has been very great so far. I like to do different experiences everyday. I especially like the Compass program, the Build Lab and the Create Lab. I am most proud of the projects I have completed in those spaces. Being in those experiences have helped me learn necessary and useful life skills that I’ve never known before. For example, in the Compass program alone, I learned money matters (how to save and manage money), applying for scholarships, branding (creating a personal brand), pathways after high school, etc. Compass has helped me consider other pathways I could take after high school. My favorite build experience has been creating Jitterbugs that involved soldering. I really liked tinkering with the wires and figuring out which part goes where. For Create Lab, I like the experience because it gives you freedom on what you wanna make. My favorite project for the create experience is doing graffiti letters with your own name. I really liked that because I was able to be really creative with it. As for the staff members, I’ve made really great connections with them, they’re always so nice and super fun to be with all the time. They would always engage you to do experiences all the time and make sure you're having fun. Boys and Girls Club is a fun place to be in. Learning different experiences is always something to look forward to. Getting to learn life skills is a big win if you join Boys And Girls club. They offer so many great opportunities and programs that anyone can join. Being in the Boys and Girls Club has impacted my life to be better and to be more outgoing.
A Cause I Believe In
A cause I believe in is helping people in need. I’m passionate about this because I want people to be happy and well cared for. The thing I’ve done to contribute is donating clothes I don’t want anymore. Feed My Starving Children is a charitable organization I have volunteered at. At Feed My Starving Children we packaged food and shipped them to children who are hungry. Another place I’ve helped volunteer at was the First Congregational Church of Dundee. For this place I’ve helped deliver meals to people’s cars, while other people helped prepare the meals. St Jude is a hospital that I like to donate with my family to help the children who are in need. I feel like helping people is something I wanna continue doing as I live on. I want to help people so they’ll be able to experience joy