Los Alamitos, USA – Preparing for life in the adult world – Jul 2016

Dear Better Lives,

I am very grateful for The Youth Center’s Leadership Academy, which I recently attended, as it helped me to prepare for life in the adult world, something not taught in high school.

I am currently in my junior year at Los Alamitos High School, born and raised in Los Alamitos and have been in the Boy Scouts since the 5th grade on my road to my Eagle Scout award. At the Academy I met others from my age group who were motivated and interested in learning new things in such areas as career skills, finances, personal and professional growth, home economics, and auto maintenance. I felt the financial/banking skills were the most challenging topics since I have not been in a bank or known how to use credit cards. But the most beneficial tool I learned through the career skills aspect of the Academy was that, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” and making connections with others.

I got to learn directly from professionals and successful individuals who were great resources of knowledge and gave lots of insight. I feel everything at the Academy was very applicable and helpful for my future. It gave me a solid start on what I face in the future to become a successful and stable adult.
My dreams for the future are to become an astrophysicist as I love science and could study it forever. I hope to complete a science major in college that will lead to this end, and who knows I might even attend MIT someday. With the Leadership Academy, I am one step closer to fulfilling my dreams. Thank you so very much for making this possible for me and other kids.

Sincerely,
Andy Lam