Mansia is a high school senior who exercises her love for sports, learning, and community work through extracurricular activities.
Mansia (Class of 2027) has been in the Breakthrough New York program for six years. During those years, she met peers from different parts of NYC, forming bonds with them through their shared experiences. Mansia is very active in her school community as the captain of the fencing team and recently explored her passion for science through volunteer work.
Eager to Learn
The middle school program at Breakthrough emphasizes enrichment classes as a way for students to be exposed to a variety of subjects. These classes gave Mansia the opportunity to explore activities that she normally would not have tried.
“It’s made me a lot more open and more eager to learn. Those electives influenced me to join a bunch of clubs in my school,” she says.
Mansia participates in Model United Nations and is the student body president at her school. When asked about what she is learning as a part of those clubs, she replies: “Finding your voice and putting yourself out there is important to me. I feel more comfortable when I’m able to communicate my thoughts.” Mansia is also a co-leader for her school’s Asian affinity group; while attending a predominantly white institution (PWI), she says it is essential to have a community to share her thoughts and celebrate her culture.
Joining the Medical Field
Mansia’s long-term goal is to follow her passion for science and become a doctor. This past summer, she volunteered at Mt. Sinai West, assisting nurses with patients and other administrative tasks. “It’s a very empathetic job. You have to understand people,” she says of the experience. “I want to be able to impact other people and change their lives, if I could as a doctor. But even as a volunteer, I was able to talk and listen to [patients’] stories.”
Mansia is able to achieve all of these accomplishments partly because of the values that she learned at Breakthrough. “Breakthrough has opened me up [to] leadership and [stressed] the importance of being an active member of your community,” she remarks. “Taking part in any opportunity sets you up to see where your passions truly lie.”
