CAS Portfolio

Playing the Violin

I have always been interested in learning how to play the violin because I always enjoyed the sound it makes when I hear pieces played in the violin. This prompted me to learn how to play it myself in hopes to one day be able to learn pieces that I am fond of. When I started learning how to play the violin, I had a hard time because the pieces I was learning to play were quite challenging. I found learning how to play the violin quite challenging because it takes a lot of effort to get the tone and pitch right. I overcame these difficulties by continuously practicing and improving myself until I could play the pieces I was learning almost perfectly.

Production Committee

In school, there are activities that are planned by the student council for the enjoyment of the students. I decided to join the production committee so that I could help bring plans to life. This CAS experience involved the production committee to execute the activities that are being planned by the council. In this activity, I got to work with my schoolmates to decorate for events and plan fundraising events. Joining this committee needed me to try my best to help with whatever needed to be done and participate in the planning and execution of the events which I did my best to.

A memorable activity that we did was a garage sale. I remember this because I had such a great time helping to make posters for the booths and selling all the things that were donated to be sold. Everyone I worked with was also very fun to be with and we got to collaborate well in order to make the garage sale successful.

Going to the gym

Going to the Gym

When I first decided to join a gym to improve my health and lifestyle, I knew that it would take commitment because I needed to go consistently in order to see any improvements. Because of this, I decided to find a workout plan online to follow and help me stay motivated to go regularly. At first, I had a hard time going consistently because I didn't want to go or I was too tired. However, once I realized how rewarding it is to go regularly and when I started to feel better physically, I started to go regularly again. Through going regularly, I got to increase the weights that I lift little by little and I feel like I have improved my health and became stronger that I was before I started this CAS experience.

Cycling

When I first decided to do this activity, I was complacent because I haven't done physical activity in a while. So I decided to look at the schedule of cycling classes near me and joined one of their classes. The first time I did this activity, I had a very hard time trying to keep up with what the instructor was telling us to do. This was when I realized how much physical exercise I lacked and had to improve/change. I consistently went and joined the cycling class after that realization to contribute to the lifestyle improvement I aimed to have. Through my consistency over a few months, my health and stamina improved and I was eventually able to follow everything the instructor was telling us to do.

Chess Club

When I first joined the chess club, I did not have an idea on how to play chess. Joining this club gave me a stepping stone to learn the basics of chess and continuously practice playing by competing against the other club members. I learned how to play a game that didn't involve me losing immediately and I also learned a few openings that chess players normally do. This experience taught me the basics of a board game that I was curious about for a long time.

Red Cross Youth Club

I decided to join the Red Cross Youth council in my school. Through joining the council, I was able to participate in the planning, fundraising, and execution of the activities that were planned. This experience was very new to me because I never really got to partake in leadership roles because I felt like I didn't have the ability to do so; it was a great experience because I learned a lot by being part of planning the events of the club.

An activity that was executed this year was the school-wide blood drive our club proposed. In one of the orientations we had, the officers of Red Cross told us that there is always a shortage of blood supply, this activity was such a fulfilling experience because this was a way to help the community by having people donate blood for people who will need it. Executing this activity took a lot of planning and fundraising throughout the year so that we would have the funds to push through with the activity. The whole group had to think of ways to raise funds and this was an experience that required everyone to share their ideas for a feasible plan to arise. During the blood drive, despite wanting more people to donate blood, there are a lot of requirements a person has to pass in order to. It was important in this activity to assist people who wanted to donate and make sure that they understand what is required and inform them if they are eligible or not.

Kythe Foundation

Signing up for this activity, I was a little nervous because I didn't really know how to interact with children while having a language barrier. Nevertheless, I wanted to join this activity to experience interacting with children and maybe putting a smile on their faces. In this activity, I was alongside two of my friends when I interacted with three children. During this experience, we prepared a few activities such as coloring, drawing, and board games. Each of us was responsible for a different activity to try our best to keep the children entertained during our time with them. When we did our own activities with the children, it was evident that dividing activities maximized the enjoyment the children could have with us; also, working together to prepare the activities we were gonna do with the children allowed me and my friends to share our ideas that were creative ways to entertain the children.

It was also important to keep in mind that we were in a hospital interacting with children who were sick. In this activity, we had to make sure that the children we were interacting with were comfortable and that nothing we were doing could harm them physically or emotionally. So the activities we were to do with children had to be safe but still something the children would enjoy. Through this activity, I learned how simple actions could greatly impact a child's day. It was very fulfilling to see the children we played with smiling when we were playing despite their confinement in the hospital. It just goes to show how taking a small part of a day to brighten up someone's day could be something that could do so much good in a person's life.

Environment IB

Being part of the EnvironmentIB advocacy taught me a lot of things about a subject that I have always had a passion for. In order to spread the word about saving the environment and sustainability, our group had to propose a project that could attract people into doing their part and engaging in global sustainability. Our advocacy focused on the impact of waste and different ways on how to minimize it because it is something that affects the world and could negatively impact our future. Through the topics we were interested in, our group decided to plan out an exhibit to raise awareness and inspire people to do their part in saving the environment.

In the making of the exhibit, I helped construct a portion of the exhibit which showed how our trash could end up becoming our food of the future. To do so, me and my group made different kinds of food made out of trash that we found and recycled them to make artworks. Personally, I am not that good at art, but with the help of my group and doing my best, I eventually got to help produce works that were visually pleasing and hopefully informed people about the outcome of excessive waste.

It was also important to consider the ethical choices in our advocacy. Because our advocacy centered on waste management and sustainability, our group made sure to minimize the waste that we would be producing in the process of making this exhibit happen. We made sure that the materials that were used were all recycled materials that were going to be thrown away. This experience has been rewarding because through all the work and challenges, we got to participate in a cause that matters and should be talked about more and hopefully, we were able to do our part in raising awareness about the environment.