In the summer before 10th grade I got a job working at BodyTek Weston HIIT gym, gaining experience with sales, customer service, studio management, technical support, and more! It was my first official job as an employee, and I enjoyed the work as well as being able to be more independent and start paying for my own things!

In 8th grade I joined National Junior Honor Society, NJHS, and we did lots of fundraising and community service- including doing something called a Domino’s Pizza Card Fundraiser. We sold these ‘pizza cards’ and donated the proceeds to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital- my organization and I, of which I was a team leader, raised a total of over $7,000 to donate to the childrens’ hospital!

I got my first 3D printer over the summer of 8th grade hoping to be able to print out a few gimmicks and gizmos for myself, but I began seeing these awesome designs online that I just had to share with the world; I even took classes on how to use the printer and how to 3D model and design before opening my Etsy shop that same summer! I called it Kira (my name) and Gizmos (I like the sound of the word, and it’s a sufficiently vague term to cover the span of what I was selling!).

I got a few orders at first, and I learned how to use the software and keep up with demand, and then the orders began to pile up- and I learned customer service and how to maximize efficiency while working- and finally I had a full-fledged business that I was using to make money on the side!

There were a few issues, like my 3D printer breaking (this happened 3 times, actually), and my shop getting shut down because I was a minor (I rebranded to be under my dad’s name, but resumed operations with myself still at the helm), and in the end every time something came up I faced it head-on and came out on top!

In 6th grade science class we were asked to design and build an eco-friendly model city, and I went above and beyond on this project. I named it MeCoCity, and is hypothetically located near Lake Okeechobee in Florida. 

Among other things, the city uses heat from inside the Earth to warm the water, wind turbines and solar panels to power houses and buildings, a hydroponic greenhouse to provide fresh produce, a large recycling program, and even an efficient underground mailing system! I wrote an 8- page document on this futuristic city, scoring 108% on the project! 

I put a lot of effort into envisioning, designing, and constructing a realistic model of this futuristic sustainable city. I really hope something like this can someday become commonplace, rather than the nasty, polluting cities of today!

In 5th grade I took sewing classes, and as part of the class we sewed colorful dresses (together, we made hundreds of them) to donate to third-world countries and to other little girls in need.

In 3rd-4th grade, my class (at Apple Tree Montessori) volunteered to package meals for kids in need, in a schoolwide volunteering project for Kids Against Hunger.